Current  ews 


PHILADELPHIA 


of  hjbb  i jsflff* 

AUG  10  1315 


Supplement 'April,  1917 

“The  Power  Company  and  the 

Distribution  of  Electrical  Energy” 

By 

WILLIAM  C.  L.  EGLIN 

I f FI  IlFTl'lTTl"!  I II  III 


PHILADELPHIA-  ELECTRIC-  CO.  - SECTION 
NATIONAL-  ELECTRIC-  LIGHT- ASSOCIATION 


PHILADELPHIA- ELECTRIC-CO-SECTION 

"FIFTH  OLDEST  IN  THE  N.  E.  L.  A. " 

OF  THE 


NATIONAL  • ELECTRIC  • LIGHT  * ASSOCIATION 

Organized,  March  1 5th,  1909 


PAST  CHAIRMEN 


A.  L.  ATMORE  Chairman 

W.  E.  LONG Vice-Chairman 

W.  J.  LOCHART Secretary 

FRED  RUSSELL Asst.  Secretary 

H.  R.  KERN Treasurer 


P.  H.  BARTLETT 1909-10 

JOSEPH  D.  ISRAEL 1910-11 

THOMAS  SPROULE 1911-12 

B.  FRANK  DAY 1912-13 

JOS.  B.  SEAMAN 1913-14 

FRANK  A.  BIRCH 19M-15 

H.  P.  LIVERSIDGE 1915-16 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE— 1916-17 


Advisory  Members 


JOSEPH  B.  McCALL 
W.  H.  JOHNSON 
W.  C.  L.  EGLIN 


A.  L.  ATMORE,  Chairman,  1000  Chestnut  Street 


WILLIAM  B.  AHERN 
H.  CARL  ALBRECHT 
HOWARD  DESHONG 
W.  H.  DONLEY 
HAROLD  GOODWIN,  JR. 


W.  K.  KERFORD 
H.  R.  KERN 
H.  P.  LIVERSIDGE 
W.  J.  LOCHART 
W.  E.  LONG 


A.  H.  MANWARING 
H.  K.  MOHR 
J.  J.  REILLY 
C.  J.  RUSSELL 


A.  J.  CASCADEN President  Meter  Department  Branch 

EDWARD  J.  WALSH Chairman  Commercial  Branch 

FRANK  T.  ADAMS * . Chairman  Engineering  Department  Branch 


rr  xj  u 

NATIONAL  • ELECTRIC  • LIGHT  • ASSOCIATION 

29  WEST  39TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

H.  A.  WAGNER.  BALTIMORE.  MD.,  PRESIDENT 
T.  COMMERFORD  MARTIN.  SECRETARY 

ESTABLISHED:  FEB.  25,  1885  * - - MEMBERSHIP:  OVER  15,000 

GEOGRAPHIC  SECTIONS:  II.  (INCLUDES  CANADIAN  ELECTRICAL  ASSOCIATION) 
COMPANY  SECTIONS:  64 


PHILADELPHIA*  ELECTRIC-CO-SECTION 

"FIFTH  OLDEST  IN  THE  N.  E.  L.  A. " 

OF  THE 

NATIONAL  • ELECTRIC  • LIGHT  • ASSOCIATION 

Organized,  March  15th,  1909 


PAST  CHAIRMEN 


A.  L.  ATMORE  Chairman 

W.  E.  LONG Vice-Chairman 

W.J.  LOCHART Secretary 

FRED  RUSSELL Asst.  Secretary 

H.  R.  KERN Treasurer 


P.  H.  BARTLETT 1909-10 

JOSEPH  D.  ISRAEL 1910-11 

THOMAS  SPROULE 1911-12 

B.  FRANK  DAY 1912-13 

JOS.  B.  SEAMAN 1913-14 

FRANK  A.  BIRCH 1914-15 

H.  P.  LIVERSIDGE 1915-16 


EXECUTIVE  COMMITTEE — 1916-17 


Advisory  Members 


JOSEPH  B.  McCALL 
W.  H.  JOHNSON 
W.  C.  L.  EGLIN 


A.  L.  ATMORE,  Chairman,  1000  Chestnut  Street 


WILLIAM  B.  AHERN 
H.  CARL  ALBRECHT 
HOWARD  DESHONG 
W.  H.  DONLEY 
HAROLD  GOODWIN,  JR. 


W.  K.  KERFORD 
H.  R.  KERN 
H.  P.  LIVERSIDGE 
W.  J.  LOCHART 
W.  E.  LONG 


A.  H.  MANWARING 
H.  K.  MOHR 
J.  J.  REILLY 
C.  J.  RUSSELL 


A.  J.  CASCADEN President  Meter  Department  Branch 

EDWARD  J.  WALSH Chairman  Commercial  Branch 

FRANK  T.  ADAMS . Chairman  Engineering  Department  Branch 


rr  u u 


NATIONAL  • ELECTRIC  • LIGHT  • ASSOCIATION 

29  WEST  39TH  STREET,  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 

H.  A.  WAGNER,  BALTIMORE.  MD.,  PRESIDENT 
T.  COMMERFORD  MARTIN.  SECRETAPvY 

ESTABLISHED:  FEB.  25,  1885  * - * MEMBERSHIP:  OVER  15,000 

GEOGRAPHIC  SECTIONS:  II.  (INCLUDES  CANADIAN  ELECTRICAL  ASSOCIATION) 
COMPANY  SECTIONS:  64 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiii 


HE  United  States  had  not  entered 


i the  Great  War  at  the  time  the 
contents  of  this  Supplement  was  pre- 
pared. 

However,  in  the  light  of  the  President's 
Proclamation  appearing  in  the  press  on 
April  16th,  1917,  the  work  of  the  Ameri- 
can  Power  Companies  takes  on  the 
significance  of  national  service. 

Recognized  as  an  important  part  of 
what  the  President  has  termed  "a  great 
national,  a great  international  Service 
Army  ’ because  of  their  close  and  neces- 
sary relationship  to  the  industrial  forces 
of  the  country,  the  Power  Companies 
today  stand  ready  to  perform  whatever 
may  be  required  of  them  in  the  service 
of  the  Nation. 

It  is  because  of  this,  that  service  in  the 
Power  Companies  takes  on  the  signifi- 
cance of  national  service. 


President,  The  Philadelphia  Electric  Co. 
Past-President, 

The  National  Electric  Light  Association 


illlllllllllllllllllllinilllllllllllllllllllllllllllll)UIIIHtllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilll1IIIHIIIIillltlllllllllllllllllllllllllMlllllltllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll]|||lilllllllll!l||||||||l|||||||||U 


COPYRIGHT  1917,  BY  THE  PHILADELPHIA 
SECTION  OF  THE  NATIONAL  ELECTRIC 


ELECTRIC  COMPANY 
LIGHT  ASSOCIATION 


Publication  Permission  is  Given,  Provided  Proper  Credit  is  Allowed 
First  Edition  : 20,000  Copies 


THE  POWER  COMPANY 
AND  THE  DISTRIBUTION 
OF  ELECTRICAL  ENERGY" 


By  WILLIAM  Q L.  EG  LIN 

2d  VICE-PRESIDENT  AND  CHIEF  ENGINEER 
THE  PHILADELPHIA  ELECTRIC  COMPANY 

PAST'PRESIDENT 

THE  NATIONAL  ELECTRIC  LIGHT  ASS'N 


DEDICATED  TO  THE  AMERICAN  TECHNICAL  UNDERGRADUATE 


t 


iliiliiiiiiliiillliiliiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiliilliiiiliiiij^iiiliiiiiiifiitiiiiiiiiiliiiiiililiiliiiillllllilllfinillillliilllliiliiiifiiiMiiiiiiijiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiilliiiiiiiiiiiaaamfiiaiiiiiaivmifiii: 

PHILADELPHIA 

PEN  NSYLVANIA 

FOUNDED  1683  BY  WILLIAM  PENN 
BIRTHPLACE  OF  AMERICAN  LIBERTY:  JULY  4,  1776 

r 

“The  World  s Greatest  Workshop 
and  • The  • City  • of  • Homes” 

THIRD  LARGEST  CITY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 
ELEVENTH  LARGEST  CITY  IN  THE  WORLD 

POPULATION:  1750,000  (1917) 

AREA:  129^  SQUARE  MILES 

Output  of  Philadelphia's  Factories,  $1,000,000,000  (for  Year 
1916);  Number  of  Manufacturing  Establishments,  8,400 
(Census  1914);  Employees:  Male  197,500,  Female  88,400 
(Census  1914);  Total  Yearly  Payroll  of  Philadelphia's  Manu- 
factories, $1 85,500,000;  Number  of  Homes,  373,000;  Home 
Ownership,  150,000;  Parks  and  Squares,  86;  Acreage,  6,400; 
Recreation  Centers,  33;  Schools,  217;  Average  Attendance, 

193,000  (December,  1916);  Miles  of  Streets,  1,700; 

Street  Railway  Trackage,  625  miles 

o o o 


The  • PHILADELPHIA  • ELECTRIC 
COMPANY  • SYSTEM 

STATISTICS  AS  OF  JANUARY  1st,  1917 

Number  of  Generating  Stations, 4;  Capacity, 200,000  Kilowatts 
Number  of  Sub-Stations  (Distribution)  - 30 

Number  of  Customers  .......  95,000 

Kilowatt-Hours  Generated  (Year  1916)  - 445,000,000 


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EC.  CO.  SECTION 


N • E • L • A 


"A.  N.E.L.A.  BOOSTER” 


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EDITOR  FOR  THIS  ISSUE 
K.  PHILIP  HART.  2ND 


ENGINEERING  DEPARTMENT 


Vol.  XIII  APRIL,  1917,  SUPPLEMENT  No.  9 





FOREWORD 

THE  purpose  of  the  following  pages  is  to  point 
out  the  opportunities  for  university-trained  men 
in  the  Power  Companies  — the  sense  of  that  which 
now  is  written  having  been  presented  in  talks  to 
students  at  Yale  and  Princeton  Universities. 

The  prerogative  that  1 assume  in  presenting  at  greater 
length  what  I feel  to  be  very  real  opportunities,  may 
be  likened  to  the  rural  Congressman's  "leave  to 
print",  and  is  with  the  hope  that  it  may  be  of  some 
help  to  the  undergraduate  who  is  at  the  cross-roads 
in  his  choice  of  a life-work. 

The  work  of  preparing  this  in  printed  form  has 
been  carried  on  by  Mr.  Charles  Penrose  and 
Mr.  Bn.  Philip  Hart,  2nd,  who  have  gathered  the 
statistics  and  have  prepared  the  supplement  in  its 
present  form,  and  to  whom  my  thanks  are  extended. 

April,  1917. 




5 


608923 


CURRENT  NEWS 


THE  POWER  COMPANY 
AND  THE  DISTRIBUTION 
OF  ELECTRICAL  ENERGY 

By  WM.  C.  L.  EGI.IN  :: 

A PAPER  PRESENTED  BEFORE  PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY,  ON  FEB.  28,  1917 


INTRODUCTION 

IN  addressing  you  Prineetonians  tonight,  I have  divided  the  subject  of 
“The  Power  Company  and  the  Distribution  of  Electrical  Energy”  into 
six  divisions.  While  I shall  touch  upon  hydro-electric  developments,  my 
remarks  so  far  as  plant  property  is  concerned  are  more  applicable  to  the 
larger  metropolitan  systems  of  Eastern  U.  S.  A. 

The  divisions  which  I have  made  are  these : 

FIRST: 

The  Electrical  Industry  as  shown  by  national  statistics , and  the  standing  of 
the  Power  Company  in  the  United  States  today. 

SECOND: 

The  Power  Company’s  Growth  (historically)  and  the  reasons  therefor. 

THIRD: 

The  Field  occupied  by  the  Power  Company  today. 

FOURTH: 

How  the  Power  Company  Distributes  Electrical  Energy.  (An  Outline  of 
Plant  Property  and  Apparatus.) 

FIFTH: 

The  Power  Company’s  Problems  and  Future,  and  the  Opportunity  for 
T echnically -trained  Men  in  the  Industry. 

SIXTH : 

The  Human  Side  of  the  Power  Company’s  Organization. 

With  this  brief  introduction,  let  us  turn  our  attention  at  once  to  the  first 
of  the  above  divisions,  namely,  the  Electrical  Industry  and  the  standing  of 
the  Power  Companies. 


6 


for  APRIL,  1917 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim: 


1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ii 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 


iimmmmimmmm: 


$4,820,000,000 


Food  Products 


$ <3,415,000.000 


I $ 3,223,000,000 


$2,265,000  000 


Textiles 
Iron  and  Steel 

Electrical  Industry 


$ 2,002,000,000  Chemical  Industry 


1$  1,417, 


1,417,000,000 


Metals  (other  than  Iron  and  Steel) 

$ 1,105,000,000  Leather 

J $ 1,034,000,000  Vehicles  (Automobiles .Wagons  etc) 
$ 772,000,000  Liquors 
$6i4,ooo,ooo  Stone, Clay  and  Glass 

□ $ 553,000,000  Railroad  Repair  Shops 

□ $ 490,000 ,000  Tobacco 

| $ 11,000,000  Looking  Glasses 
| $ 5,490,000  Windmills 


THE  ELECTRICAL  INDUSTRY  IN  U.  S.  A. 

STANDING  IN  1914 

RANKED  ACCORDING  TO  VALUE  OF  PRODUCTS 
(U.  S.  CENSUS  1914,  BEING  LATEST  OBTAINABLE  DATA) 


3iiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiriiiiiirnnpiiiiim  

7 


CURRENT  NEWS 


THE  "POWER.  COMPANY"  INDUSTRY 

NATIONAL  STATISTICS 


SECTION  I: 

IT  seems  logical  in  any  discussion  that  the  most  comprehensive  statistical 
figures  should  be  given  first,  and,  therefore,  I am  going  to  call  your 
attention  at  the  outset  to  the  following  rather  startling  figures  for  the 
whole  Electrical  Industry  in  the  United  States,  based  on  the  most  recent 
statistics  of  the  Bureau  of  the  Census. 

In  1914,  the  two  billion  two  hundred  and  sixty-five  million  dollar  gross 
income  of  the  whole  electrical  industry  ranked  fourth  among  the  fourteen 
leading  industries  of  this  country. 

The  rank  of  “fourth”  may  convey  little  to  some  of  us,  but  when  we  consider 
that  the  tabulation  of  figures  on  the  Electrical  Industry  by  the  Census 
authorities  dates  back  only  to  the  year  1902,  when  the  gross  income  was 
shown  as  $718,000,000,  and  that  the  present  standing  as  given  above  is 
surpassed  by  only  three  other  industries,  namely,  Food  Products,  Textiles 
and  Iron  and  Steel,  in  the  order  named,  then  we  arrive  at  a very  definite 
concept  of  the  position  to  which  the  Electrical  Industry  as  a whole  has 
attained. 

Another  way  of  looking  at  the  relative  importance  of  these  figures,  and  to 
use  what  is  now  a time-honored  criterion,  is  that  this  gross  income  for  the 
whole  electrical  industry  for  the  year  1914  represents  six  times  the  total 
cost  of  the  Panama  Canal  (given  as  $375,000,000). 

It  is  an  interesting  coincidence,  that  the  gross  income  for  1914  for  the 
Power  Company  Industry  happens  to  be  exactly  equal  to  the  cost  of  the 
canal. 

Rather  than  go  further  into  a mass  of  statistics,  which  at  best  are  only 
comparative,  I have  had  prepared  a number  of  diagrams  intended  to  show 
graphically  some  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Industry.  They  include  not 
only  the  standing,  growth  and  development  of  this  Industry,  financially 
and  technically,  but  show  also  the  growth  and  development  of  some  of  the 
related  interests;  for  example,  that  of  the  steam  boiler  and  prime  mover. 
This  development,  although  in  a different  field  of  engineering,  was  inspired 
and  fostered  by  the  electric  generator.  Certain  interesting  economic  com- 
parisons are  shown,  which,  upon  analysis,  you  will  find  include  the  factors 
that  have  benefited  alike  the  Power  Company  and  its  customers,  bringing 
about  the  present-day  standing  of  the  Industry. 

The  appended  charts  are  self-explanatory. 


8 


for  APRIL,  1917 


1 LARGE  FIGURES  DENOTE  K W.  CAPACITY  — SMALL  FIGURES  DENOTE  NO.  OF  COMPANIES  1 


GEOGRAPHICAL  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  POWER 
COMPANY  INDUSTRY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  1912 

NATIONAL  STATISTICS  FOR  1912 

FROM  LATEST  U.  S.  CENSUS  STATISTICS 


COMPANIES : 

Total  Number  ....  5,221 
GENERATORS: 

Total  Capacity,  5, 1 35,000  k.w. 

PRIME  MOVERS: 

Total  Capacity,  7,529,000  h.  p. 

WHICH  ARE  DRIVEN,  AS  FOLLOWS  : 

By  Steam  Engines  and 
Turbines  . . . 4,947,000  h.  p. 

By  Water  Wheels  and 
Turbines  • • • 2,47 1,000  h.  p. 
By  Gas  Engines,  1 1 1,000  h.  p. 


PERSONS  EMPLOYED: 

Total  Number  ....  79,335  I 
INCOME  (for  Year  1912): 

Total $302,000,000  ! 

OUTPUT  (for  Year  1912): 

Total  Kilowatt  Hours, 

11,500,000,000  i 

LOAD  SERVED : 

Lamps : | 

Total  Number  • 77,000,000  1 

Motors : 1 

Total  Number  • • 435,000  1 

Total  Cap  y,  4, 1 3 1,000  h.  p.  1 


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9 


CURRENT  NEWS 


3620  4714  5221 


NUMBER  OF  COMPANIES 


1,212,000  2,709,000  5,135,000 


KILOWATT  CAPACITY  OF  GENERATORS 


2,500,000,000  KWH 

5,860,000,000  KWH 


1,530,000,000  KWH 


OUTPUT  OF  ALL  STATIONS 


THE  GROWTH  OF  THE 
POWER  COMPANY  INDUSTRY 
1902-1912, 

U.  S.  Census  Report 


10 


for  APRIL,  1917 




Millions 


Dollars 

soo 

400 

1 300 

ZOO 

$440, 

000,000 

1916 

t 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

fl7$00q 

J307 

/ 

y 

| 

HiS.ooc 

000  S 

/ 

INCOM 

POWEF 

E FRO 
: comi 

M 

5ANY 

t\S,OOCfi* 

1867 

/89  7 

18 

INDUST 

37-I9K 

RY 

4665  I62>0  183S  1000  1005  1910  1915 


NUMBER  OF  PERSONS 
EMPLOYED  IN  THE 
POWER  COMPANY 
INDUSTRY  IN  U.S.  A. 


1902  1907 

30.300  <47,600 


1912 

79,300 


— From  U.  S.  Census  Report,  1912 


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11 


CURRENT  NEWS 


no 


I 50 

D- 

E 

<c 

O 30 


TQS-1915 

J 

Anour 

ON 

IT  OF  l 

FOR 

E CENT 

.IGHT 

/ 

SIZE  OF 
RENEWAL 

Lamp  ab 
5 imclupi 

)UT  40  W 
P 

ATT  / 

21-1900 

T8-I885 

1885  1690  1895  1800  1906  1910  1915 

ECONOMIC  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ELECTRIC  LIGHTING  — 18851915 

1312 


1907 


1902 

438.000 


1650.000 


4130.000 

HORSt  POWER  OF  MOTORS  SERVED 

1912 


1302 

V 


182QQOOO  41900000 


76,500000 


NUMBER  OF  INCANDESCENT  LAMPS  CONNECTED 

GROWTH  OF  LOAD,  POWERv  COMPANY  INDUSTRY:  1902M9I2  — U.  S.  CENSUS  REPORT 


12 


for  APRIL,  1917 


1880  1885  1890  1895  1900  1905 


CURRENT  NEWS 


CORLISS  (1876)  VERSUS  CURTIS  (1915) 


The  Corliss  Engine ; Side  Elevation, 


CORLISS  1876 

INSTALLED  AT  CENTENNIAL 
EXHIBITION  • PHILADELPHIA 

| 1400  Horse-Power 

I Cylinders:  Diameter,  40  inch 
Stroke,  10  feet 

I Diameter  of  Platform,  55  feet 
| Height,  39  feet 
I Total  Weight,  680  tons 
| Speed,  36  R.  P.M. 

1 Steam  Pressure,  25  to  80  pounds 
1 per  square  inch 

| Steam  Consumption,  25  lb.  per 
H.  P.  Hour  (approximate) 


CURTIS  • 1915 

INSTALLED  AT  STATION  A-2 
PHILADELPHIA  ELECTRIC  CO. 

47,000  Horse-Power  (35,000  1 

Kilowatts)  j 

Length,  63  feet,  2 % inches 
Width,  21  feet,  7%  inches 
Height,  15  feet,  10%  inches 
Total  Weight,  415  tons 
Speed,  1200  R.  P.  M. 

Steam  Pressure,  215  pounds  per  | 
square  inch  | 

Steam  Consumption,  7.2  lb.  per  | 
H.  P.  Hour  f 


14 


for  APRIL,  1917 


15 


1884 


CURRENT  NEWS 


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16 


for  APRIL,  1917 


1885  0.2  KILO-WATT  HOUR  per  pound  of  Coal 

1895  0.4 

1905  0.44 

1915  0.83 

"THE  UTILITY  VALUE  OF  A 
POUND  OF  COAL" 

The  above  chart  shows  graphically  what 
enormous  progress  has  been  made  in 
obtaining  the  energy  of  coal  through  the 
medium  of  Steam  Prime -Movers  and 
Electric  Generators.  The  following  tabu- 
lar comparison  (upon  which  the  above 
is  based,  and  which  assumes  coal  having 
a uniform  calorific  value)  shows  that, 
while  considerable  progress  has  been 
made  in  burning  coal,  i.  e.,  the  evapora- 
tion, the  really  Great  Progress  has  been 
made  in  the  development  of  the  Steam 
Prime-Mover : 


1 

YEAR 

EVAPORATION 

WATER'RATE 

"UTILITY  VALUE" 

i 

1 

WATER  PER  LB.  COAL 

STEAM  PER  K.W.H. 

K.W.H.  PER  LB.  COAL 

i 

1 

1885 

7 lb. 

35  lb. 

0.2  k.  w.  h. 

i 

1 

1895 

8 " 

20  " 

0.4  " 

l 

I 

1905 

8.5  " 

19.5  “ 

0.44  " 

I 

1 

1915 

9 " 

o 

bo 

0.83  " 

t 

The  above  represents  best  practice  of  the 
American  Power  Companies , at  the  date  noted 


^fitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiriiffiiiiiiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiifitiuriiii 

17 


CURRENT  NEWS 


mmiiimiiiiiiiiimimmiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiniiiiiiii 


18 


TRANSMISSION  VOLTAGES  AND  DISTANCES— AMERICAN  PRACTICE  = 1890—1913 


for  APRIL,  1917 

-.imiiiiiiimiiiiimmimii ....mm... mum mm mm .mm m.iiimi mini 


"An  interesting  ECONOMIC  COMPARISON  is 
found  in  the  variation  in  the  cost  of  electric  light  and 
food  commodities,  during  the  years  1890  to  1916/' 


19 


CURRENT  NEWS 


THE  POWEK  COMPANY'S  GROWTH  (HISTORICALLY) 
AND  THE  REASONS  THEREFOR 

SECTION  II: 


HE  history  is  an  intensely  interesting  one,  of  what  popularly  we  may 


1 term  “the  distribution  of  power,”  but  by  which  we  mean  in  a strictly 
technical  sense  “the  distribution  of  energy” — a physical  distinction  which 
you  will  readily  recognize. 

The  history  of  the  Power  Company  may  be  carried  back  to  almost  the 
beginning  of  industrial  activities. 

You  may  recall,  and  there  are  still  in  existence  in  certain  parts  of  the 
country,  Power  Company  canals,  through  which  water  was  fed  to  factories 
and  utilized  by  means  of  water  wheels  or  turbines. 

These  water-power  companies  were  limited  by  natural  conditions,  i.  e., 
to  localities  where  water  for  this  purpose  was  readily  available. 

With  the  invention  of  the  steam  engine  by  Watt  in  1769,  the  field  for  the 
generation  and  transmission  of  energy  was  very  much  enlarged. 

Watt’s  steam  engine,  whose  first  use  you  remember  was  in  pumping  out 
water  from  the  coal  mines  in  Wales,  was  slowly  evolved,  as  time  progressed, 
into  the  type  of  prime  mover  available  at  the  birth  of  the  Electrical  Power 
Company  Industry— no  longer  ago  than  the  early  eighties  of  the  last 
century. 

But  in  the  interim,  between  the  time  of  Watt  and  the  practical  introduction 
of  electricity,  there  is  a long  period — one  also  of  gradual  development. 

Briefly,  to  run  over  this  period : 

As  the  steam  engine  and  steam  boiler  were  progressively  developed  and 
larger  sizes  were  perfected,  mechanical  energy  was  transmitted  within  a 
community  by  means  of  line  shafting,  belts  and  cable. 

At  one  time  the  direct  distribution  of  high-pressure  steam  by  pipes  laid  in 
the  street,  was  tried;  probably  the  most  notable  example  of  this  being  in 
New  York  City,  where  the  steam  was  generated  at  a central  point  and 
piped  to  the  customers’  premises,  to  operate  steam  engines  which  they 
installed  and  maintained. 

Compressed  air,  also,  has  been  used  as  the  means  of  transferring  energy 
from  the  Power  Company  to  its  customers.  This  offered  some  advantages; 
for  example,  in  mines,  by  assisting  in  the  ventilation  of  the  mine. 

The  territorial  area  which  could  be  served  by  any  of  these  methods  was 
comparatively  small.  This  was  because  of  limitations  due  to  losses  in 


20 


for  APRIL,  1917 

transmission,  the  high  cost  of  construction  and  poor  overall  efficiency. 
So  that  we  may  say  that  it  was  not  until  the  development  of  dynamo-electric 
machinery,  which  enabled  a reasonably  large  area  to  be  served  from  a 
single  power  house,  that  any  marked  advance  was  made  in  the  transmission 
of  energy.  One  reason  lay  in  the  fact  that  for  the  first  time  large  loads 
could  be  carried  by  conductors  or  mains  of  reasonable  size,  with  relatively 
small  losses  in  transmission,  and  with  good  and  constantly  improving 
overall  efficiencies. 

I was  particularly  interested  to  see  in  your  museum,  here,  today,  some  of 
the  experimental  apparatus  of  Professor  Henry,  whose  discoveries  in  1838 
in  the  field  of  electro-magnetic  induction  had  such  bearing  in  making 
possible  the  whole  modern  system  of  transmission  and  distribution  of  elec- 
trical energy.  These  discoveries,  which  I am  told  were  made  by  him 
within  the  walls  of  your  classical  Nassau  Hall,  I feel  should  be  perpetuated, 
and  I would  like  to  suggest  that  the  engineering  students  of  Princeton 
might  well  erect  a suitable  memorial  to  keep  this  brilliant  work  before  the 
electrical  engineering  profession  of  the  country,  and  to  serve  as  a reminder 
to  every  visitor  to  your  university.  In  this  connection  I will  include  here 
an  abstract  from  the  “Proceedings”  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society, 
Vol.  1,  p.  14,  May  4,  1838,  in  which  I find  the  following:  “Dr.  Patterson 
read  a letter  from  Professor  Henry,  of  Princeton,  dated  May  4,  1838, 
announcing  that  in  recent  experiments  he  had  produced  directly  from 
ordinary  electricity,  currents  by  induction  analogous  to  those  obtained  from 
galvanism,  and  that  he  had  ascertained  that  these  currents  possess  some 
peculiar  properties;  and  that  they  may  be  increased  in  intensity  to  an 
indefinite  degree,  so  that  if  a discharge  from  a Leyden  jar  be  sent  through 
a good  conductor  a shock  may  be  obtained  from  a contiguous  but  perfectly 
insulated  conductor  more  intense  than  one  directly  from  the  jar.  Professor 
Henry  remarks  that  he  has  also  found  that  all  conducting  substances  screen 
the  inductive  action,  and  that  he  has  succeeded  in  referring  this  screening 
process  to  currents  induced  for  a moment  in  the  interposed  body.” 

The  chronology  of  the  important  steps  in  the  development  of  electrical 
apparatus  which  led  up  to  and  made  possible  modern  electrical  engineering 
and  the  modern  Power  Company  is  given  as  follows : 

Probably  the  earliest  electrical  discovery  or  invention  which  is  related  to 
the  Power  Company  industry,  was  that  of  the  arc  lamp  in  1810,  by  Sir 
Humphry  Davy.  The  batteries  which  Davy  used  were  Voltaic  piles,  whose 
inception  dates  to  1799  (circa),  when  they  were  discovered  by  the  Italian 
physician,  Volta.  Previous  to  Davy’s  experiments  a good  deal  of  work 
had  been  done  in  electrostatics  and  magnetism,  which,  of  course,  bore  its 
fruits  later  on,  but  which  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  related,  except  remotely, 
to  the  Power  Company  industry. 


21 


Continued  on  page  23 


CURRENT  NEWS 


^iimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitmiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiimimiiimimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimimiimimmimiiiiiiiiim 


I "THE  FIRST  EXHIBITION  OF  I 

THE  ELECTRIC  LIGHT — 1810"  [ 

1 "We  give  an  illustration  of  no  small  historic  interest.  It  represents  the  first  exhibition  of  the  | 
| electric  light  by  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  at  the  Royal  Institution  in  London,  in  1810,  and  we  1 

| reproduce  it  from  'La  Lumiere  Electrique.'  The  date  is  so  recent  as  to  belong  to  our  own  | 

| times.  The  story  of  the  display  may  be  briefly  told.  As  our  readers  know,  Volta  announced  | 

| in  1800  the  invention  and  construction  of  his  pile,  the  first  source  of  dynamic  electricity.  A I 

I year  later,  Davy,  only  twenty^one  or  twenty^two  years  of  age  was  appointed  assistant  lecturer  1 

1 at  the  Koyal  Institution,  and,  entering  upon  his  duties  with  zeal  and  ardor,  he  was  not  slow  | 

| to  avail  himself  of  the  means  for  investigation  and  experiment  placed  at  his  disposal  there  in  | 

I the  Voltaic  pile.  He  made  good  use  of  the  earlier  batteries  provided,  but  in  1808  found  1 

| himself  in  possession  of  a battery  of  Brobdingnagian  proportions,  purchased  by  the  subscript  1 

1 tions  of  a few  generous  patrons  of  science.  It  consisted  of  2,000  cells,  arranged  in  200  | 

| porcelain  troughs  in  a vault,  after  the  manner  indicated  in  the  lower  portion  of  our  illustration.  1 

| "Davy  had  discovered  and  shown  the  carbon  light  on  a very  small  scale  in  1802,  having  1 
| learned  how  to  obtain  an  'arc'  by  holding  together  two  pieces  of  charcoal  that  were  | 

1 connected  to  the  opposite  poles  of  a battery  and  then  drawing  them  apart ; and  he  could  | 

| now  repeat  his  experiment  on  a grand  scale  and  with  startling  brilliancy  before  the  members  1 
1 of  the  Institution.  It  is  well  to  give  his  own  description  of  the  display : 'When  pieces  of  1 

1 charcoal  about  an  inch  long  and  one- sixth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  were  brought  near  each  | 

| other  (within  the  thirtieth  or  fortieth  part  of  an  inch)  a bright  spark  was  produced,  and  | 

| more  than  half  the  volume  of  the  charcoal  became  ignited  to  whiteness;  and,  by  with'  1 

| drawing  the  points  from  each  other  a constant  discharge  took  place  through  the  heated  1 

| air  in  a space  equal  to  at  least  four  inches,  producing  a most  brilliant  ascending  arc  of  | 

| light,  broad  and  conical  in  form  in  the  middle.'  The  length  of  this  arc  was  increased  in  | 

| vacuo  to  seven  inches.  The  delight  and  surprise  of  the  spectators  was  evidently  very  great. " 1 

| — Electrical  World,  April  12,  1884.  1 


^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^  iiiiiiniiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiH 

22 


for  APRIL,  1917 

The  earliest  discoveries  leading  to  the  development  of  dynamo-electric 
machinery  were  those  of  Faraday,  who,  in  1821,  discovered  electro-magnetic 
rotation.  Barlow,  in  1823,  made  a simple  electric  motor,  consisting  of  a 
copper  disk,  whose  edge  dipped  into  a bath  of  mercury.  It  was  not  until 
1831  that  Faraday  discovered  that  he,  using  a disk  much  like  Barlow’s 
(see  page  24)  could  produce  electric  currents.  This  was  really  the 
FIRST  ELECTRIC  GENERATOR,  the  direct  ancestor  of  all  our  modern 
turbo-alternators  and  all  present-day  dynamo-electric  machines.  Faraday’s 
wonderful  work  did  not  stop  there;  in  the  same  year  he  discovered  the 
“magneto-electric  induction  of  currents,”  which  is  the  underlying  principle 
of  the  modern  transformer.  About  this  same  time,  as  I have  already 
pointed  out,  Henry,  in  the  United  States,  was  making  very  important 
discoveries  in  electro-magnetic  induction;  you  are,  of  course,  familiar  with 
the  fact  that  the  unit  of  electro-magnetic  induction  bears  his  name.  Henry 
also  built  an  electric  motor  which  worked  on  the  principle  of  electro  magnets 
attracting  oscillating  plungers. 

The  next  development  came  from  Pixii,  a Frenchman,  who,  at  the  suggestion 
of  his  friend,  Ampere,  brought  out  a dynamo  (page  24).  In  this  crude 
machine  a marked  advance  was  made  over  Faraday’s  disk  machine  by  the 
substitution  of  a wound  electro-magnet  with  many  turns  of  wire  for  use  as 
an  armature,  in  place  of  Faraday’s  copper  disk  which  had  but  one  path  for 
current.  Pixii  also  used  a crude  two-part  commutator — THE  EARLIEST 
COMMUTATOR  KNOWN. 

The  years  1833-38  saw  several  attempts  made  in  the  construction  of  motors, 
among  which  were  those  of  Jacobi  and  Davenport  (see  page  24).  These 
motors,  like  several  others  of  this  period,  really  worked,  and  probably 
would  have  been  developed  much  faster  had  it  not  been  for  the  prohibitive 
expense  of  electrical  energy,  all  of  which  had,  at  that  time,  to  be  obtained 
from  batteries.  It  is  interesting  to  note  what  the  inventors  of  motors 
accomplished  who  were  well  backed  financially : J acobi,  for  example,  ran  a 
boat  on  the  Neva  (see  page  24),  while  Page,  at  a later  date,  made  an 
electro-magnetic  motor  with  plungers,  developing  ten  horse-power.  Several 
attempts  were  made  to  drive  printing  presses  electrically,  while  others 
tried  to  make  electric  locomotives  practical,  with  varying  success. 

Up  to  1845,  several  men  had  built  crude  generators,  all  of  them  employing 
permanent  magnets  for  their  fields,  but  in  this  year  Wheatstone  and  Cooke 
took  out  patents  for  the  use  of  ELECTRO-MAGNETS  FOR  FIELDS. 
This  suggestion,  although  a most  important  one  in  the  light  of  later 
developments,  does  not  appear  to  have  met  with  any  marked  success  on  its 
inception,  and  it  was  not  until  1863  (circa)  that  we  hear  of  a machine  being 
built  which  made  use  of  their  scheme.  Another  important  suggestion  was 
that  of  self-excitation,  made  by  Jacob  Brett  in  1848 ; this  also  was  destined 
to  lie  unused  until  several  years  later. 


23 


Continued  on  page  26 


CURRENT  NEWS 


HISTORICAL  ELECTRICAL  APPARATUS 


1831 

FARADAY'S  DISK  DYNAMO 
'Faraday,  in  1831,  showed  that  by 
rotating  a copper  disk  mechanically 
between  the  poles  of  a magnet, 
continuous  currents  were 
obtained." 


1832 

PIXII’S  "ALTERNATE 
CURRENT”  MACHINE 
"So  far  as  known,  the  first  machine 
to  generate  the  so-called 
'alternate'  currents.” 


1837 

DAVENPORT’S  ELECTRIC 
RAILWAY  MOTOR -Jl  Model 
"The  motor  exhibited  is  one  of  a 
considerable  number  made  by 
Davenport,  of  Brandon, 
Vermont,  U.  S.  A. 
in  1837.” 


1838 

JACOBI'S  ELECTRIC  MOTOR 
"This  motor,  installed  in  a boat  at 
the  command  of  Czar  Nicholas, 
propelled  the  boat  at  less  than  3 
miles  per  hour.  The  fumes  from 
its  supply  batteries  had  to  be 
carried  off  through  a 
smokestack.” 


TlllllllllllllllltlllllllllllllllllllltllllllUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIItllllllllllllllHItMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIItIMIMIIIIIIIttllMlllllllllllllllllllllll 


24 


for  APRIL,  1917 


^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiimiitiiiiiiiiiiiiimnftitmiiiiiiiMimiitmiiiiiiimitiiimiiiiiiiiiiimimifiifiiiiiiiiimiimiiiiummiin^ 


HISTORICAL  ELECTRICAL  APPARATUS 


1851 

DUMONCEL'S  ELECTRIC 
MOTOR 

One  of  several  futile  attempts  to 
use  the  solenoid  in  electric  motors. 
A larger  motor  of  similar  descrip^ 
tion  was  constructed  by  Prof. 
Page  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute 
in  1850,  which  developed 
10  horse -power." 


ALLIANCE  MACHINE  FOR 
"ALTERNATE  CURRENTS" 
Built  by  Messrs.  Holmes,  du  Mon^ 
cel  and  Masson,  and  for  many 
years  used  in  Lighthouses  in 
Great  Britain  and 
France.” 


1863 

WILDE'S  MACHINE 
" Wilde,  of  Manchester,  England, 
devised  a machine  which  was 
‘excited’  by  a small  permanent 
magnet  dynamo,  mounted 
on  its  summit.” 


1864 

PACINOTTl’S  DYNAMO 
1 Probably  the  earliest  multLsegment 
commutator  machine,  and  the  first 
machine  which  would  run 
either  as  generator 
or  motor." 


^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 


25 


CURRENT  NEWS 


The  year  1856  saw  the  birth  of  Werner  Siemens’  “SHUTTLE-WOUND” 
ARMATURE.  This  important  step  in  advance  was  one  of  the  many  made 
by  Dr.  Siemens.  About  the  same  time  important  progress  was  being  made 
in  the  construction  of  dynamo-electric  machines  by  Holmes,  an  Englishman. 
In  1857,  he  exhibited  a machine  which  received  the  highest  praise  from 
Faraday;  he  followed  this  in  1862  by  an  extraordinary  machine  for  direct 
current.  Some  idea  of  its  general  characteristics  may  be  gained  from  the 
fact  that  it  had  160  bobbins  arranged  on  wheels  nine  feet  in  diameter ; these 
bobbins  swept  past  powerful  permanent  magnets  fixed  fast  to  a frame. 
Records  do  not  tell  whether  this  remarkable  machine  was  successful  or 
whether  it  received  Faraday’s  good  wishes.  However,  it  suffered  some 
modification  by  Holmes  himself  working  in  connection  with  DuMoncel  and 
Masson.  This  trio  in  1863  brought  out  the  “Alliance”  machine  (page  25), 
evidently  retaining  some  of  the  features  of  Holmes’  earlier  machines.  The 
“Alliance”  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  FIRST  MACHINE  TO 
GENERATE  CURRENT  FOR  AN  ECONOMIC  PURPOSE;  these 
machines  were  used  for  years  to  light  many  important  French  and  British 
lighthouses. 

The  few  years  following  1863  were  particularly  prolific  in  new  types  and 
important  discoveries  in  generators.  One  of  the  most  important  was  the 
building,  by  Pacinotti  in  1864,  of  a machine  (see  page  25),  having  two 
important  features,  viz. : a SIXTEEN-PART  COMMUTATOR  and  what 
amounted  to  A RING  ARMATURE.  The  machine  fell  into  temporary 
oblivion  but  was  later  recognized  to  be  of  great  merit.  During  the  same 
period,  Wilde,  of  Manchester,  England,  carried  on  a remarkable  series  of 
experiments  which  produced  a machine  having  electro-magnets  for  fields, 
excited  by  a small  permanent-magnet  machine.  (See  page  25.)  This  was 
probably  the  FIRST  EXCITER  ever  used.  Wilde,  in  1873,  made  his 
machine  self-exciting  by  using  a commutator.  This,  however,  was  not  the 
first  self-excited  generator,  for  the  reason  that  in  December,  1866,  S.  A.  and 
C.  Varley  patented  a machine  which  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  make 
use  of  “RESIDUAL”  for  starting.  Their  patent  was  followed  closely  by 
two  other  discoveries  of  the  same  thing,  made  independently.  January  17, 
1867,  Dr.  Werner  Siemens  described  a self-excited  machine  to  the  Berlin 
Academy*,  and  on  February  14th  of  the  same  year,  Sir  C.  Wheatstone  made 
an  almost  identical  suggestion  to  the  Royal  Society.  Later  in  1867,  a 
self-exciting  generator  was  built  by  Ladd,  whose  machine  had  two  arma- 
tures on  the  same  shaft,  one  for  supply  and  one  for  excitation.  The  sug- 
gestion to  use  self -excitation  made  in  1848  by  Brett  does  not  appear  to 
have  borne  fruit  until  this  year. 


*On  this  occasion,  Dr.  Siemens  coined  the  name  “ dynamo-electric  machine,”  later 
abbreviated  to  the  familiar  “dynamo” 


26 


for  APRIL,  1917 

The  year  1870  marked  the  introduction  by  Gramme  of  his  famous  RING 
ARMATURE.  A little  later,  1873,  Hefner  Alteneck  took  up  the  “shuttle” 
armature  of  Siemens  and  rewound  it,  spacing  the  several  turns  at  equal 
angles  around  the  circumference,  and  adding  a multi-segment  commutator, 
in  order  to  produce  a less  fluctuating  voltage.  Dr.  Henry  Rowland,  of 
this  country,  also  worked  out  independently  a “drum”  wound  armature 
which  was  used  with  great  success. 

Charles  Francis  Brush,  an  inventor  of  remarkable  brilliancy,  took  up  the 
problem  of  electric  lighting  in  1875,  and  in  a few  months  had  developed  and 
perfected  an  arc  light  and  dynamo  which  achieved  marked  success  in  1876. 
Some  of  his  early  machines  were  used  for  many  years,  so  far  were  they  in 
advance  of  arc  machines  of  that  date. 

In  1878,  Pacinotti  devised  an  armature  which  had  its  windings  placed 
radially  on  a flat  disk;  this  form  of  machine  was  later  developed  for  use 
with  arc  lights,  but  became  obsolete,  never  having  been  widely  used. 
During  this  same  year  Edison  attacked  the  problem  of  building  generators. 
His  first  attempt  was  a machine  having  oscillating  motion,  evidently  to  get 
rid  of  the  commutator  and  its  attendant  troubles.  The  oscillating  idea  was 
not  a new  one,  having  been  tried  previously  by  Dejardin,  1856 ; Siemens, 
1859,  and  Wilde  in  1861.  Edison  abandoned  the  oscillating  motion  in  1879, 
and  produced  what  later  was  modified  to  be  his  familiar  BIPOLAR 
“TYPE  Z”  MACHINE  (page  33).  In  1881,  he  attempted  unsuccessfully 
to  build  a disk  machine  along  the  same  lines  as  Pacinotti’s  of  1878. 

It  should  be  noted  here  that  on  October  21,  1879,  Mr.  Edison  made  his 
first  successful  incandescent  lamp,  the  first  high  resistance  lamp  and  the 
first  to  be  used  for  parallel  operation.  The  importance  of  this  invention 
to  the  development  of  the  industry  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 

In  1880,  the  “open  coil”  machine  was  brought  out  by  Elihu  Thomson  and 
Houston.  This  same  machine  was  used  to  a large  extent  on  arc  light 
circuits.  Later,  the  “open  coil”  idea  was  adopted  by  several  other  makers. 

In  1881,  Marcel  Deprez  came  to  the  certain  theoretical  conclusions  with 
regard  to  the  excitation  of  field  coils.  These  conclusions  led  him  to  devise 
the  COMPOUND  WINDING,  which  soon  was  adopted  by  many  makers. 
Lord  Elphinstone,  Crompton  and  Hopkinson  about  this  time  drew  attention 
to  perfecting  the  magnetic  circuit  of  generators  to  improve  their  regu- 
lation. This  development  led  to  the  MULTI-POLAR  MACHINE  in  several 
forms. 

Just  later  than  this  Frank  J.  Sprague  made  the  important  discovery  that 
motor  speed  with  increasing  load  could  be  regulated  in  much  the  same 
way  that  generator  voltage  was  with  increasing  current.  This  prominent 
American  inventor  also  evolved  the  prototype  of  the  modern  interpole 

Continued,  on  page  30 


CURRENT  NEWS 


HISTORICAL  ELECTRICAL  APPARATUS 

$p|p 

' . ■ . . 

site,1 

1870 

1876 

GRAMME'S  MACHINE 

BRUSH  ARC  DYNAMO 

"Z.  T.  Gramme,  the  Frenchman, 

"This  machine  employed  the  Pacinotti 

introduced  the  ring  armature  ; the 

ring  armature  and  had  the  enor' 

machine  shown  was  the  prototype 

mous  e.m.f.  of  nearly  3000  volts. 

of  many  machines  using  this 

Was  adapted  to  lighting  25 

construction.” 

arc  lamps  in  series.” 

mt. 

1880 

1885  (circa) 

WESTON  DYNAMO 

SIEMAN'S  DYNAMO 

" Weston,  in  particular,  developed 

" This  machine  employed  the  shuttle' 

shunt' wound  direct'current 

wound  armature,  which  although 

dynamos.  Early  type 

invented  in  1856  by  Siemens,  ap' 

shown.” 

pears  not  to  have  been  used 

until  this  later  date.” 

28 


for  APRIL,  1917 

^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiH 


HISTORICAL  ELECTRICAL  APPARATUS 


1880 

THOMSON-HOUSTON 
ARC  DYNAMO 
" One  of  the  several  types  of  Arc 
Dynamos  in  common  use  before 
the  introduction  of  the  constant 
current  transformer.” 


1885 

THURY'S  DYNAMO 
Thury's  dynamo  was  one  of  the 
earliest  multipolar 
machines.” 


1885 

DEPREZ  GENERATOR 
M.  Deprez  used  this  generator 
in  his  epoch-making  experiments 
on  the  transmission  of  power 
by  electricity.” 


1894 

STANLEY  INDUCTOK 
ALTERNATOK 
Stanley's  alternator  which  had  no 
copper  on  the  moving  parts,  was 
widely  used  for  single  and 
polyphase  work.” 


mini iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

29 


CURRENT  NEWS 


motor.  From  that  date  on,  the  development  of  the  direct-current  motor 
and  generator  have  kept  very  much  abreast. 

The  considerable  success  of  Edison’s  generator  and  the  introduction  of  his 
lamp  on  a commercial  basis  brought  the  problem  of  distribution  to  the 
front  with  great  emphasis. 

This  problem  which  Edison  had  to  face  was  no  small  one,  for  up  until  the 
time  of  his  generator  the  parallel  system  of  distribution  had  never  been 
used.  His  solution  consisted  in  the  “feeder  and  main”  and  the  three-wire 
systems,  whose  importance  to  the  industry  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 

The  Edison  system  of  distribution,  although  it  was  the  most  advanced  of 
the  time  and  even  stands  today  as  the  standard  method  for  direct-current 
and  secondary  alternating-current  distribution,  has  certain  limitations. 
The  most  important  of  these  is  that  the  investment  in  copper  mains  for 
transmitting  energy  any  considerable  distance  increases  extremely  rapidly 
with  the  distance.  This  limitation  was  at  first  overcome  by  building  several 
power  plants  centrally  located  with  respect  to  the  communities  which  they 
were  to  serve.  In  the  large  cities  such  as  New  York,  many  independent 
power  houses  were  built,  each  serving  its  own  immediate  territory,  of 
which  it  usually  occupied  the  load  center.  The  objections  to  this  method 
of  electrical  supply,  in  the  light  of  our  later  experiences,  were  several.  In 
the  first  place,  the  position  of  the  plant  was  determined  by  one  condition 
and  one  only,  namely,  the  location  of  the  load.  All  other  economic  condi- 
tions, such  as  railroad  facilities,  value  of  real  estate,  proper  water  supply 
had  to  go  unconsidered  in  view  of  the  one  master  determining  condition, 
location  of  the  load. 

The  greatly  increased  demand  for  electric  service  led  inventors  to  cast 
about  for  a more  satisfactory  means  of  distribution.  The  first  approach 
toward  solution  was  started  in  1884,  when  Mr.  George  Westinghouse,  with 
his  characteristic  foresight,  acquired  the  patent  rights  of  the  European 
inventors,  Messrs.  Gaulard  and  Gibbs,  for  the  alternating-current  system. 
Their  system  however  was  in  crude  form,  consisting  of  several  “converters” 
(since  called  “transformers”)  whose  primaries  were  connected  in  series  and 
whose  secondaries  supplied  independent  circuits.  William  Stanley,  a 
resident  of  Great  Barrington,  Massachusetts,  took  up  the  system,  and  in 
1885  made  transformers  which  he  connected  in  multiple.  Later  in  that 
same  year,  he  successfully  lighted  stores  and  residences  at  Great  Barrington. 
This  installation  was  the  FIRST  COMMERCIAL  DISTRIBUTION  SYS- 
TEM USING  ALTERNATING  CURRENTS.  The  work  of  William 
Stanley  was  followed  closely  by  the  Westinghouse  Company,  who,  in  1886, 
conducted  the  famous  LAWRENCE YILLE  TEST,  at  which  time  energy 
at  1,000  volts  pressure  was  transmitted  two  miles,  single  phase.  The  “load" 
consisted  of  three  hundred  incandescent  lamps  which  were  lighted 
continuously  during  a period  of  about  two  weeks. 


30 


Continued,  on  page  34 


for  APRIL,  1917 

THE  WORLD'S  FIRST  ELECTRICAL  CENTRAL  STATION 

APPLETON,  WISCONSIN— 1882 


PLANT  CAPACITY  250' 10  C.  P.  LAMPS— APPROX.  \2'/2  K.W.  THE  EARLY  EDISON 
DYNAMO  WAS  DRIVEN  BY  WATERPOWER.  REGULATING  APPARATUS  IS  SHOWN 

31 


CURRENT  NEWS 


RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIItlHnilllij!^ 

HISTORICAL  ELECTRICAL  APPARATUS 


THE  EDISON  STEAM  DYNAMO 


WHEN  Mr.  Edison  attacked  the  problem  of  electric  lighting,  some 
five  years  ago,  he  both  felt  and  expressed  the  conviction  that  its 
economic  and  practical  solution  was  to  be  obtained  more  easily  and  more 
satisfactorily  by  aiming  at  installations  on  a large  scale  for  supplying  light 
to  large  districts.  However,  this  proposition  to  generate  in  a central 
station  the  current  necessary  for  a large  number  of  lamps  and  to  distribute 
this  to  the  consumer  just  as  gas  and  water  are  supplied,  from  a system 
of  steam  mains,  was  ridiculed  by  electricians  as  chimerical,  and  even 
speculators  on  such  novel  business  shrugged  their  shoulders  in  doubt  as 
if  realizing  the  absurdity  of  the  proposition.  The  plan  of  light- restricted 
areas  and  buildings  separately  by  means  of  small,  isolated  plants  seemed 
the  most  feasible.  The  most  readily  adaptable  — in  a word,  the  most 
practical,  and  was  sanctioned  by  the  great  majority  of  electricians  and 
engineers,  while  it  received  the  immediate  encouragement  of  capitalists. 
For  a long  time,  it  seemed  that  Mr.  Edison  had  made  a mistake  and  made 
rash  promises.  The  experiments  tending  toward  the  realization  of  the 
project  were  numerous,  protracted,  and  many  of  them  unsuccessful. 
But  finally,  the  difficulties  were  overcome  and  the  long- predicted 
possibility  was  at  last  demonstrated. 

It  results  from  all  this  that  the  idea  of  generating  electricity  on  a large 
scale  has  been  growing  into  favor  among  the  electrical  engineers,  and 
has  now  arrived  at  a point  of  being  considered  as  the  most  practicable. 
The  procedure  adopted  by  the  various  subsidiary  and  local  companies 
who  undertake  the  lighting  and  illumination  of  cities  and  towns,  is  a direct 


llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIillllllllllllllllllllllllllH 

32 


for  APRIL,  1917 




HISTORICAL  ELECTRICAL  APPARATUS 


1 EARLY  TYPES  OF  EDISON’S  GENERATORS  | 

I proof  of  this.  But  the  idea  of  a large  installation  entails  other  considera-  | 

f tions,  that  of  the  size  of  the  generators,  it  is  necessary  to  determine  | 

| whether  it  is  more  practical  to  use  a large  number  of  small  dynamos  or  | 

| else  fewer  large  ones  in  an  installation  of  great  capacity.  The  question  | 

| is  easily  answered,  for  there  are  important  reasons  which  argue  in  favor  [ 

| of  large  dynamos.  Just  as  in  producing  steam  power,  a single  large  | 

1 engine  is  preferable  to  a number  of  small  ones,  so  in  this  case,  the  use  1 

| of  large  dynamo-electric  machines  affords  greater  efficiency  and  con-  1 

I venience,  while  the  complication  and  cost  are  materially  reduced.  A large  1 

| dynamo  may  be  belted  or  even  coupled  direct  to  the  engine,  thus  obviat-  | 

1 ing  the  necessity  of  countershafting  and  the  multiplication  of  belting  which  | 

| are  indispensible  when  small  dynamos  are  used. 

| We  present  herewith  an  illustration  of  one  of  the  six  dynamos  in  use  | 

| at  the  Pearl  Street  station.  I 

The  large  Edison  dynamos  are  intended  to  supply  enough  current  for  f 
1 24,000  lights  of  8 candles  or  12,000  of  16  candles.  1 

! The  supply  of  current  adapts  itself  to  the  use  made  of  it  by  those  sup-  j 

| plied  with  the  Edison  light,  the  regulation  being  accomplished  by  a varia-  \ 

I tion  of  the  resistance  introduced  into  the  field- magnet  circuit.  The  large  1 

[ dynamos  are  all  connected  in  multiple  circuit  to  the  mains,  and  they  are  j 

1 all  kept  at  a uniform  electro- motive  force  near  the  standard  adopted  \ 

f (110  volts),  regulation  being  effected  simultaneously  in  all.  It  is  the  inten-  | 

I tion  to  keep  part  of  the  dynamos  running,  one  or  two  being  kept  in  I 

1 readiness  to  serve  as  relays  in  case  of  accident  to  any  of  the  others.  I 

f At  present,  however,  the  demand  on  the  system  by  consumers  is  so  great  1 

| that  at  dusk  it  is  necessary  to  keep  five  dynamos  in  operation.  It  is  esti-  i 

1 mated  that  at  this  time  there  are  over  55,000  of  the  lights  being  used  in  | 

1 the  district.  The  present  capacity  of  the  station  is,  therefore,  well  taxed,  | 

1 and  the  Company  is  unable  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  new  applicants  f 

1 for  lights  until  the  new  dynamos  have  been  put  into  operation,  which  | 

| will  probably  be  within  a couple  of  months." 

I —FROM  Electrical  World , NOVEMBER  3,  1883.  PAGE  155,  VOL.  II  | 

nimiiimiiiiiimiiiiiiiimiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmiiimiiiimiimiiimmim^ 

33 


CURRENT  NEWS 


The  epoch-making  experiments  of  Stanley  and  the  Lawrenceville  test  were 
followed  shortly  by  the  commercial  use  of  alternating  current  on  a large 
scale.  Starting  with  a plant  at  Greensburg,  Pa.,  then  one  at  Buffalo, 
N.  Y.,  the  alternating-current  system  made  such  strides  that  ivithin  two 
years  after  the  Great  Barrington  work,  two  hundred  alternating-current 
plants  were  in  operation ! 

It  was  in  1885  that  the  National  Electric  Light  Association  was  founded, 
which  institution  has  since  grown  to  such  large  membership  and  usefulness. 
The  association’s  name  was  not  at  that  time  a misnomer,  for  not  until  that 
same  year  had  electrical  energy  been  used  for  commercial  power  purposes. 
The  introduction  of  the  SPRAGUE  MOTOR  (1884)  was  the  first  step 
toward  the  now  widespread  use  of  electric  power. 

The  year  1888  saw  several  important  advances  in  the  art.  The  invention 
by  Shallenberger  of  a meter  for  measuring  alternating-current  energy  was 
of  great  importance.  During  this  same  year,  the  problem  of  alternating- 
current  motors  was  being  attacked  by  Messrs.  Nikola  Tesla  and  Ferraris. 
The  former  achieved  the  greater  success,  his  motor  being  very  simple  and 
practical. 

It  must  be  noted  here  that,  judged  by  modern  usage,  the  frequencies  of 
the  early  installations  had  all  been  extremely  high,  the  usual  values  being 
125  or  133  cycles  per  second.  This  high  frequency  made  it  possible  to 
construct  transformers  cheaply  and  was  satisfactory  for  lighting  purposes. 
However,  as  it  was  found  impossible  to  make  an  induction  motor  run  on 
such  frequencies,  most  of  Tesla’s  experiments  were  carried  on  using  special 
polyphase  alternators  of  a much  lower  periodicity.  About  1892,  when 
the  tremendous  opportunity  for  the  induction  motor  was  seen,  it  became 
apparent  that  the  high  frequency  single-phase  system  must  be  abandoned 
in  favor  of  a lower  frequency  POLYPHASE  SYSTEM.  As  it  was  Tesla’s 
motor  which  necessitated  this  new  system  of  polyphase  circuits,  his  name 
was  given  to  the  system  as  well  as  to  the  motor.  At  this  time,  the  West- 
inghouse  Company  adopted  60  cycles  for  lighting  and  30  cycles  for  power 
purposes. 

The  year  1888  marked  the  introduction  by  Frank  J.  Sprague  of  his  multiple 
control  system  for  railway  service.  This  system  of  control,  which  has  since 
become  of  the  most  vital  importance  in  coping  with  the  problems  of  modern 
transportation,  gave  the  transportation  industry  of  that  day  an  added 
impetus  and  greatly  stimulated  its  growth. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Edward  W.  Weston  was  doing  some  of  his 
most  important  work  along  the  lines  of  developing  electrical  measuring 
instruments. 

Although  his  early  and  very  successful  work  was  on  the  incandescent  lamp, 
the  arc  lamp  and  the  plating  dynamo,  the  really  signal  service  which  he 

Continued  on  page  44 


34 


for  APRIL,  1917 


DYNAMO  ROOM 


ERRATUM: 

Fifth  paragraph  on  page  34  should  read  as  follows: 

Shortly  previous  to  this  time,  Frank  J.  Sprague  undertook  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Richmond  (Va.)  Union  and  the  St.  Joseph  (Mo.)  Union  Pas- 
senger Railways ; this  was  in  the  spring  of  1887.  The  former  of  these 
installations  is  recognized  as  the  pioneer  of  the  modern  trolley.  Mr. 
Sprague  in  1882  had  conceived  the  overhead  trolley  and  in  1885  had 
invented  the  wheel-barrow  suspension  for  electric  railways,  and  in  the 
same  year  had  proposed  that  the  elevated  railroads  (then  steam  driven) 
be  equipped  with  motors  carried  on  the  trucks.  Such  tests  were  made  in 
1885-86. 

The  multiple-unit  control  system  for  railway  service  was  invented  in  1895 
by  Mr.  Sprague,  was  proposed  by  him  for  the  Elevated  Railroad  in  New 
York  in  1896  and  1897,  and  first  commercially  adopted  on  the  Chicago 
South  Side  Elevated  Railroad  in  the  latter  year.  This  system  of  control, 
which  has  since  become  of  the  most  vital  importance  in  coping  with  the 
problems  of  modern  transportation,  gave  the  transportation  industry  an 
added  impetus  and  greatly  stimulated  its  growth.  The  system  is  now 
used  on  all  electric  railways  where  two  or  more  locomotives  or  car  units 
are  under  a common  control. 


35 


CURRENT  NEWS 


36 


AMERICAN  PRACTICE— 1882:  SECTION  OF  PEARL  STREET  STATION 
NEW  YORK  EDISON  COMPANY—  From  a Model 


STATION 


for  APRIL,  1917 


i 

i 


37 


AMERICAN  PRACTICE  1915:  SECTION  OF  STATION  "A-2,"  THE  PHILADELPHIA  ELECTRIC  COMPANY 


CURRENT  NEWS 


I THE  INTERNATIONAL  ELECTRICAL 

I EXHIBITION  BUILDING,  PHILADELPHIA 

1 | HIS  building,  which  was  situated  near  Thirty-second  and  Market  Streets,  Philadelphia, 

| I housed  the  International  Electrical  Exhibition,  the  first  of  its  kind  ever  held.  The  Exhibi- 

tion, which  was  under  the  auspices  of  the  Franklin  Institute,  opened  September  2,  1884  ; 
| it  was  held  " for  the  Promotion  of  the  Mechanical  Arts.” 

| The  amount  and  variety  of  the  apparatus  gathered  together  for  the  exhibition  were  extremely 

1 large  and  showed  what  progress  the  electrical  art  had  made,  even  up  to  the  year  1884,  which 

1 was  two  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  First  Central  Station. 

I A skeleton  outline  of  the  General  Classification  of  Exhibits,  follows  : 

| SECTION  I. — PRODUCTION  OF  ELECTRICITY  : Very  comprehensively  included 
| exhibits  of  apparatus  for  producing  electricity  by  friction,  voltaic  and  thermal  means,  as  well 

1 as  by  dynamo-electric  machinery.  Steam  boilers,  engines,  and  gas  engines  were  also  exhibited 

| with  their  accessories. 

| SECTION  II. — ELECTRIC  CONDUCTORS  : Included  wires  and  cables  for  transmission  of 

1 power  and  intelligence,  together  with  accessories  such  as  conduits,  ducts,  insulators,  joints,  etc. 

1 SECTION  III. — MEASUREMENTS  : Instruments  for  measuring  physical  properties  and 

| quantities,  and  electrical  quantitative  units  were  exhibited. 

I SECTION  IV.— APPLICATIONS  OF  ELECTRICITY  : This  section  was  divided  into  two 
1 parts,  one  of  which  included  apparatus  using  small  currents,  such  as  telephone,  telegraph,  burglar 
| alarms,  clocks,  etc.  The  other  embraced  apparatus  requiring  heavy  currents,  such  as  lamps, 
| motors,  plating  machines,  etc. 

1 SECTION  V. — TERRESTRIAL  PHYSICS : Apparatus  for  measuring  atmospheric  and 
1 terrestrial  magnetism  and  electricity. 

| SECTION  VI. — HISTORICAL  APPARATUS  : Many  interesting  and  important  historical 
| apparatus  were  exhibited  under  this  head. 

I SECTION  VII.— MISCELLANEOUS. 

1 SECTION  VIII.— EDUCATIONAL  AND  BIOGRAPHICAL  : Exhibits  of  books,  models, 
1 and  other  educational  material. 


siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiihiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ 

38 


for  APRIL,  1917 


1893  (CIRCA) 

THE  EVOLUTION  OF  AN  EARLY  STATION 


1903 

59th  STREET  STATION  OF  I.  K.  T.  CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY 
FIVE  OF  THE  NINE  12,000  H.  P.  HORIZONTAL  VERTICAL  TYPE  DIRECT-CONNECTED 
ENGINE'DRIVEN  GENERATORS 


CURRENT  NEWS 


ELECTRICITY  AT  THE  WORLD'S  COLUMBIAN  EXPOSITION, 

CHICAGO,  1893 

ALTHOUGH  the  Electrical  Exhibit  was  only  a part  of  the  World's 
Ik.  Columbian  Exposition  in  1893,  it  surpassed  by  an  amazing  amount  all 
previous  Electrical  Expositions  or  Exhibits  given  in  this  country  or  elsewhere. 
The  tremendous  progress  which  the  Art  had  made  in  the  period  immediately 
preceding  the  exhibition  was  of  an  intensely  interesting  character. 

Electricity  for  the  first  time  (in  World's  Fairs)  played  an  important  part  in  the 
conducting  of  the  Exposition  itself.  Of  course,  the  illumination  of  all  the  build- 
ings and  grounds  was  electrical.  No  less  than  66,000 — 16  c.  p.  incandescent 
and  523  Helio  arc  lamps,  for  that  day  an  unheard  of  amount,  were  used  for 
building  and  grounds  lighting.  In  addition,  electricity  was  used  as  the  sole  means 
of  transportation,  both  on  the  railways  and  waterways,  and  for  all  power 
purposes  in  the  Exposition. 

The  Electrical  Exhibits  themselves  were  extensive,  and  represented  all  the 
leading  manufacturers  of  the  World.  Among  the  material  exhibited  were: 
many  types  of  lamps,  arc  and  incandescent;  power  house  equipment,  generators, 
instruments,  switchboards,  etc.;  motors,  primary  and  secondary  batteries;  rail- 
way, motive  power  and  signal  equipment;  telephone,  telegraph,  fire  and  burglar 
alarm  systems,  the  application  of  electricity  to  chemistry,  mining,  iron  manu- 
facture, medicine,  naval  service  and  many  other  miscellaneous  uses. 

40 


THE  COURT  OF  HONOR. 


for  APRIL,  1917 


“DEPARTMENT  OF  ELECTRICITY"  BUILDING 


MAIN  EXHIBITION  HALL 

41 


CURRENT  NEWS 


NIAGARA  FALLS  GENERATORS  - 1895 

THE  5000-horse-power  alternators  are  now  being  placed  on  their  I 

foundations  in  the  power  house.  The  wheel  pit  is  arched  over  to  form  j 

j the  floor  of  the  power  house  and  a cement  floor  has  been  laid  thereon.  | 

1 "The  two  circular  cast  iron  bases  mounted  upon  the  stone  foundation  | 

1 as  shown  are  ready  to  receive  the  stationary  armature  which  is  bolted  j 

f to  a vertical  cast  iron  cylinder.  The  mechanical  construction  of  these  j 

| alternators  is  practically  the  same  as  designed  by  Prof.  Forbes,  but  the  } 

j electrical  work  and  details  of  winding  are  said  to  have  been  modified  j 

I by  the  Westinghouse  Electric  6-  Manufacturing  Company. 

| "The  alternators,  which  are  13^  feet  high,  each  generate  two  alter-  | 

| nating  currents  differing  in  phase  from  each  other  by  90  degrees,  with  } 

I a frequency  of  25  periods  per  second.  The  current  conducted  through  | 

| each  circuit  is  designed  to  be  775  amperes  at  a potential  of  2250  volts.  The  | 

| field  coils  consist  of  bent  copper  bars  which  receive  the  current  from  rotary  1 

j transformers  by  means  of  brushes  and  copper  rings  fixed  to  the  shaft  j 

which  supports  the  field  magnets.  The  speed  of  the  revolving  magnets  is  | 

I 250  revolutions  per  minute,  and  the  turbine  is  said  to  be  so  designed  that  f 

| the  maximum  speed  possible  will  be  less  than  500  revolutions  per  minute."  } 

—From  Electrical  World . FEBRUARY  9th,  1895  { 



42 


for  APRIL,  1917 


| AN  ENGINEERING  PROPHECY  MADE  IN  1895 

| "The  illustration  above  shows,  diagrammatically,  the  connections  of 
a long-distance  transmission  such  as  that  to  be  installed  from  Niagara 
to  points  sixty  miles  or  more  distant.  Its  distinguishing  engineering 
features,  and  those  which  will  mark  a departure  from  anything  here- 
I tofore  attempted,  are : The  size  of  the  units  (generators,  motors,  and 
transformers);  the  solidity  and  strength  of  line  construction,  and  the 
1 electro- motive  force,  or  electrical  pressure  used  on  the  line.  The 

last  feature  is  the  only  one  that  presents  any  unknown  quantities, 
and  it  is  really  the  one  which  will  determine  the  engineering  limit 
of  the  distance  over  which  it  will  be  possible  to  transmit  a given 
1 amount  of  power  from  Niagara.  [ 

1 " From  experiments  and  tests  already  made  on  the  LaufFen- Frankfort 

line,  and  elsewhere,  it  Joes  not  seem  hazardous  to  predict  that  a maxi- 
mum pressure  of  50,000  volts  at  the  delivery  end  of  the  line  will  be 
successfully  adopted  for  long  distances,  if  business  conditions  warrant 
the  transmission.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  in  the  transmission 
of  either  oil,  gas  or  electricity,  the  limiting  engineering  condition 
is,  in  each  case,  the  line  pressure  that  can  be  safely  carried." 

| — From  Article  by  the  late  S.  DANA  GREENE,  | 

| in  Cassier’s  Magazine,  July,  1895 

I COMPARE  THE  ABOVE  WITH  PLATE  I,  FACING  PAGE  53 

niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 


43 


CURRENT  NEWS 


rendered  the  Industry  was  the  construction  of  measuring  instruments.  The 
electrical  instrument  field,  when  he  entered  it,  was  bare  of  anything  but 
the  crudest  make-shifts  and  laboratory  apparatus.  He  designed,  con- 
structed and  manufactured  the  first  really  good  instruments,  and  built  up 
a tremendous  business  in  what  then  appeared  to  be  a small  corner  of  the 
Industry. 

In  1893,  the  Commission  of  consulting  engineers  for  the  new  Niagara 
Power  House  decided,  after  much  debate,  to  use  alternating  current  for  the 
system.  The  question  of  frequency  was  an  open  one  for  some  time,  and 
was  the  subject  of  a good  deal  of  controversy.  Finally,  as  water  turbines 
of  250  r.  p.  m.  had  been  ordered,  the  choice  lay  between  25  and  33  1-3  cycles. 
The  commission  chose  the  former.  This  choice  had  far-reaching  influence 
and  led  to  the  adoption  of  25  cycles  as  a standard  frequency  in  the  United 
States,  for  power  purposes. 

In  1894,  an  alternating-current  system  known  as  “monocyclic”  was  intro- 
duced by  the  General  Electric  Company  as  a competitor  of  the  Tesla 
polyphase  system.  The  former,  due  to  its  greater  complication,  was  never 
widely  introduced. 

The  Niagara  generators,  built  in  1895,  had  several  features  making  them 
worthy  of  note.  These  generators  were  the  first  practical  machines  to  have 
stationary  armatures  and  revolving  fields.  This  end  was  accomplished,  not 
as  it  is  today  by  a field  revolving  inside  the  armature,  but  by  a massive 
field  structure  revolving  outside  the  armature.  This  was  known  as  the 
“umbrella  type”  and  was  the  intermediate  step  between  the  old  revolving 
armature  machine  and  the  modern  form  of  revolving  field  machine. 

The  year  1896  saw  an  important  step  in  development,  namely,  the  acqui- 
sition by  George  Westinghouse,  of  the  manufacturing  rights  of  the  Hon. 
Charles  H.  Parsons  for  his  steam  turbine;  but  it  was  not  until  the  year 
1899  that  the  Westinghouse  Company  installed  any  of  these  turbines. 
The  first,  three  in  number,  which  were  installed  for  commercial  use,  were 
placed  in  the  plant  of  the  Westinghouse  Air  Brake  Co.,  and  had  a capacity 
of  400  kw.  each.  From  that  initial  installation  the  turbine  industry  grew, 
slowly  at  first  and  then  extremely  rapidly  as  the  tremendous  advantages  of 
this  type  of  prime-mover  became  realized.  To  the  Hartford  (Conn.) 
Elect!  ic  Light  Company  belongs  the  honor  of  installing  the  FIRST  TUR- 
BINE OF  ANY  CONSIDERABLE  SIZE  FOR  POWER  COMPANY  USE. 
Their  unit,  installed  in  1900,  was  1,500  kw.  capacity,  and  built  by  the 
Westinghouse  Company. 

The  Commonwealth  Edison  Company,  of  Chicago,  in  1903  put  into  opera- 
tion its  Fisk  Street  Plant,  which  was  the  FIRST  ALL-STEAM-TURBINE- 
ELECTRIC-GENERATING  PLANT  in  the  history  of  the  Industry.  The 
turbines  installed  were  Curtis,  made  by  the  General  Electric  Company. 

Continued  on  page  46 


44 


for  APRIL,  1917 


1903 

FISK  STREET  STATION,  CHICAGO 

IN  THE  FOREGROUND  IS  THE  5000  K.W.  TURBINE  SHOWN  ON  PAGE  47 


1916 

74th  STREET  STATION,  I.  R.  T.  CO.,  NEW  YORK  CITY 

THREE  30,000  K.W.  " CROSS'COMPOUND”  UNITS 


45 


CURRENT  NEWS 


The  tremendous  progress  which  turbines  were  making  at  that  time  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  these  units  within  a few  years  were  scrapped  to 
give  way  to  a more  efficient  type.  One  of  the  original  5,000-kw.  units  is 
shown  on  page  47 ; it  is  already  serving  as  a monument  to  this  epoch- 
making  installation,  at  the  works  of  the  General  Electric  Company, 
Schenectady,  U.  S.  A. 

Dr.  Whitney  and  his  able  co-workers  in  1906  helped  to  bring  about  the 
introduction  of  the  tungsten  metal-filament  lamp,  producing  several  times 
as  much  light  per  watt  as  did  the  carbon  lamp,  then  generally  used.  It 
was  predicted  that  this  cheap  light  would  curtail  Power  Company  earnings. 
For  the  first  year  after  its  introduction  the  pessimists  had  the  better  end 
of  the  argument,  but  then  the  “average  man”  yielded,  as  the  psychologists 
had  predicted,  and  purchased  more  candle  power  than  he  ever  had  before, 
because  he  could  get  it  cheaper! 

In  1906  the  New  York  Central  started  their  electrification,  which  in  1907 
was  followed  by  the  electrification  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hart- 
ford Railroad.  These  installations  marked  a new  era  in  the  application 
of  electric  service  to  transportation. 

The  development  of  the  turbine  and  its  increased  application,  which  had 
been  going  on  steadily  since  its  inception,  passed  a prominent  milestone  in 
1911,  when  the  New  York  Edison  Company  installed  a 20,000-kw.  unit 
in  its  Waterside  Station  No.  1.  This  large  and  important  installation  was 
surpassed  four  years  later  when  The  Philadelphia  Electric  Company  placed 
a 35,000-kw.  unit  in  commission  in  its  Station  “A-2.”  Each  of  these  units 
was  the  largest  in  operation  in  the  world  when  installed,  and  even  today 
(February,  1917),  the  latter  has  the  distinction  of  being  the  largest  in 
service. 

The  year  1915  saw  very  marked  development  in  several  lines,  among  which 
were  the  placing  in  service  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  terminal  electri- 
fication at  Philadelphia;  and  of  an  altogether  different  nature,  the  illumi- 
nation at  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition,  which  was  regarded  as  the  most 
important  installation  yet  achieved. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  in  presenting  the  foregoing  historical 
outline,  I can  make  no  claim  whatsoever  to  completeness,  but  have  merely 
covered  what  seemed  to  me  as  being  high  spots  in  and  related  to  the 
development  of  the  Industry. 

As  you  have  seen,  starting  with  the  most  primitive  plant  equipment  (the 
units  in  the  earlier  power  houses  were  from  25  to  50  horse-power,  and 
employed  non-condensing  engines),  and  starting  with  an  equally  primitive 
company  organization,  the  MODERN  POWER  COMPANY  has  come  to 
take  its  place  as  one  of  the  most  important  factors  in  the  community  which 
it  serves,  equipped  with  plant  equipment  having  efficiencies  and  capacities 

Continued  on  page  49 


46 


for  APRIL,  1917 


MONUMENT  TO  THE  TURBINE 
INDUSTRY  IN  AMERICA 


ERECTED  IN  YARD  OF  SCHENECTADY  WORKS 
OF  • THE  • GENERAL  • ELECTRIC  • COMPANY 


THE  FIRST  LARGE 

CURTIS  STEAM  TURBINE'GENERATOK 
Capacity  5000  Kilowatts 

This  machine  was  designed  and  built  by  the  General  Electric  Company 
for  the  Commonwealth  Edison  Company  and  was  operated  in  the  Fisk 
Street  Station  Chicago,  from  October  Second,  1903,  until  May  Twenty- 
ninth  , 1909,  when  it  was  replaced  by  a Curtis  T urbine-Generator  of  greater 
capacity.  It  was,  when  installed,  the  largest  steam  turbine  in  existence. 

— From  Tablet  placed  on  Turbine  Casing 


SINCE  THE  INSTALLATION  OF  THIS  HISTORIC  TURBINE,  1903,  AMERICAN 
MANUFACTURERS  HAVE  TURNED  OUT  AN  ESTIMATED  CAPACITY  OF 
9,500,000  KILOWATTS  IN  STEAM-TURBINE-ELECTRIC-GENERATOR  SETS  I 


iiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiitiiitiimimiiiiiiiiiiiiimtiimii 


itiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiMifitiitiitiiiimiifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitifiiiiiiiiiitiimiiiimiiiimii; 


47 


CURRENT  NEWS 


48 


“THE  ILLUMINATION  AT  THE  PANAMA-PACIFIC  EXPOSITION,  1915,  WAS  REGARDED  AS 
THE  MOST  IMPORTANT  INSTALLATION  YET  ACHIEVED  ” 


for  APRIL,  1917 

undreamed  of  even  two  decades  ago,  and  with  a company  organization  that 
includes  a personnel  in  which  almost  every  man  is  a trained  specialist. 

The  reasons  for  the  remarkable  growth  are  simply  expressed,  namely,  the 
progressively  increasing  economies  secured  when  electrical  energy — now  the 
recognized  agency  for  the  transmission  of  energy  and  the  production  of 
light — is  generated  and  distributed  on  a large  scale. 

The  factors  which  have  produced  these  progressively  increasing  economies 
are : 

First:  The  high  efficiency  of  dynamo-electric  machinery,  enabling 
mechanical  energy  to  be  transformed  into  electrical  energy  with  small  loss. 
The  efficiency  of  even  very  small  machines  is  80  per  cent.,  and  in  the 
larger  machines  upwards  of  95  per  cent. 

Second:  The  ability  to  transmit  this  energy  over  long  distances  at  high 
efficiency,  and  by  means  of  simple  and  relatively  inexpensive  construction. 

Third:  The  development  of  the  incandescent  lamp  which  has  been  evolved 
from  the  old  carbon  filament  lamp,  having  an  efficiency  of  three  to  four 
watts  per  candle-power,  to  the  modern  tungsten  filament  lamp,  whose 
efficiency  is  approximately  one  watt  per  candle-power. 

Fourth:  The  development  of  the  steam  turbine,  which  in  the  larger  sizes 
has  a steam  rate  at  least  50  per  cent,  lower  than  that  of  the  steam  engine. 

Fifth:  The  lower  investment  cost  for  turbo-generator  units  in  the  larger 
sizes. 

Such  development  as  the  Power  Company  has  experienced  is  probably 
unprecedented  in  the  history  of  industrial  expansion. 

So  much  for  the  industry’s  past  history  and  the  reasons  for  its  growth. 


49 


CURRENT  NEWS 


THE  FIELD  OCCUPIED  BY  THE  POWEK 
COMPANY  TODAY 


SECTION  III: 

THE  field  occupied  by  the  Power  Company  can  be  considered  under  the 
heads  of  Scope,  Service  and  Public  Relations. 

SCOPE  and  SERVICE  are  so  closely  allied  that  I will  consider  them 
together. 

In  this  day  of  specialization,  the  Power  Company,  being  the  factor  in  the 
community  which  specializes  in  the  manufacture  of  electrical  energy,  if  it 
is  to  justify  its  economic  reason  for  existence,  logically  should  supply  elec- 
trical energy  for  every  purpose  for  which  electricity  may  be  required  in 
the  community  which  it  serves.  This  is  a pretty  sweeping  assertion,  but 
one  which  the  larger  companies  already  are  prepared  so  far  as  equipment  is 
concerned  to  follow  out,  and  to  some  of  them  the  realization  is  approaching. 

In  other  words  the  scope  of  the  power  company  is  unlimited  in  its  particular 
territory. 

As  regards  PUBLIC  RELATIONS : 

That  the  absolutely  self-evident  waste  in  the  duplication  of  equipment 
when  two  power  companies  operate  in  the  same  community  may  be  avoided, 
monopoly  is  essential.  But  on  the  other  hand,  in  order  that  both  the  public 
and  the  company  shall  be  protected  in  their  interests  and  shall  be  in  mutual 
understanding , it  is  quite  equally  essential  that  it  shall  be  a regulated 
monopoly.  The  only  proper  agency  under  whose  jurisdiction  the  regulation 
should  come  is  the  Commonwealth  itself,  within  which  the  monopoly 
operates. 

Public  service  commissions  now  are  part  of  the  Commonwealth’s  adminis- 
trative machinery  in  almost  every  State  in  the  Union,  and  when  this  body 
deals  in  strict  fairness  to  both  sides,  the  mutual  benefit  is  beyond  question 
of  doubt.  All  rate  schedules,  capitalization  plans  and  other  matters  in 
which  public  and  company  are  mutually  affected  are  submitted  for  ratifica- 
tion, and  such  files  are  kept  open  to  the  public  at  all  times.  Such  a 
condition  of  affairs  did  not  exist  at  the  inception  of  the  Industry. 

Granted  then,  that  we  have  a justly  regulated  public  utility  monopoly — 
the  Power  Company — operating  in  a given  community,  the  force  of  the 
very  logic  against  the  so-called  “isolated”  plant  seems  irresistible,  from  the 
Power  Company’s  point  of  view ! But  what  is  more  to  the  point,  the  Power 
Company  is  going  to  the  owner  of  the  isolated  plant  and  proving  to  him  a 
saving  in  the  use  of  central  station  service — with  the  result  that  the  isolated 
plant  is  disappearing. 


50 


for  APRIL,  1917 


The  case  against  the  isolated  plant  is  of  course  an  economic  one — otherwise 
it  would  not  hold — and  it  is  just  this,  due  to  the  factor  of  diversity  in  the 
use  of  electrical  energy  in  a community,  the  maximum  demands  do  not 
come  coincidently  for  all  users  of  electricity  in  the  community.  The 
periods  of  maximum  demand  on  the  part  of  various  classes  of  users  differ 
from  one  another  in  the  time  of  day,  and  some  in  the  time  of  year.  The 
net  result  is  a reduction  in  the  cost  of  energy  and  a large  saving  in  invest- 
ment, when  the  supply  is  from  a centralized  source,  for  the  reason  that 
each  individual  customer  otherwise  would  have  to  install  equipment  to 
meet  his  individual  maximum  demands,  and  the  total  plant  investment  in 
the  community  would  be  greatly  in  excess  of  that  required  by  the  power 
company.  Furthermore,  the  smaller  apparatus  cannot  be  operated  at  the 
same  economy. 

In  its  public  relations,  then,  the  Power  Company  has  come  to  be  recognized 
as  one  means  of  conserving  our  natural  resources  and  adding  to  the 
economic  and  general  welfare  of  the  community.  The  American  power 
companies  as  a whole  have  added  tremendously  to  the  economic  wealth  of 
the  nation. 


51 


CURRENT  NEWS 


HOW  THE  POWEK  COMPANY  DISTRIBUTES 
ELECTRICAL  ENERGY  • PLANT  PROPERTY 
AND  APPARATUS 

SECTION  IV: 


HE  best  practice  in  Steam  Power  Company  engineering  today  utilizes  a 


1 small  number  of  very  large  capacity  central  generation  stations 
These  stations  contain  steam-turbine  electric  generators  exclusively,  gener- 
ating polyphase  alternating  currents  usually  at  pressures  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  13,000  volts.  At  this  pressure  energy  is  distributed  directly  from 
the  generating  stations,  through  underground  cables,  into  a network  of 
sub-stations,  geographically  distributed  throughout  the  area  served  by  the 
Power  Company,  at  locations  which  form  the  centers  of  load  in  the  various 
districts.  Distribution  at  reduced  pressures  to  customers  is  accomplished 
from  the  sub-stations,  and  will  be  either  direct  current  to  the  older,  central 
districts,  or  alternating  current  to  the  other  districts. 

The  generating  stations  themselves  are  connected  by  tie  lines,  enabling  the 
interchange  of  energy  from  one  to  another.  In  the  case  of  distant  gener- 
ating stations,  the  potential  of  13,000  volts  suitable  for  metropolitan  trans- 
mission is  “stepped-up”  to  higher  potentials,  and  the  overhead  tie  lines 
run  on  steel  towers  on  a special  right-of-way. 

Two  frequencies  are  employed : 25  cycles  for  railroad  electrification  and 
traction  system  supply,  and  60  cycles  for  all  other  power  and  lighting 
supply. 

Frequency-changer  equipment  is  maintained  to  serve  as  a tie  between  the 
two  systems  for  the  exchange  of  energy  in  either  direction. 

As  regards  boiler  plant  equipment,  large-capacity  high-pressure  units  of 
high  efficiencies  are  installed,  of  the  water-tube  type,  equipped  with  auto- 
matic stokers  and  with  provision  in  coal  bunker  capacity,  etc.,  to  insure  a 
continuity  of  fuel  supply. 

The  power  plant  buildings  proper  are  divided  between  boiler  house,  turbine 
hall  and  switch  house,  the  latter  usually  being  a separate  building,  isolated 
from  the  rest  of  the  plant  and  containing  all  electrical  switching  and  control 
equipment. 

With  the  installation  of  large-capacity  units  of  high  efficiency,  the  plant 
attendance  costs  have  been  materially  reduced  per  kw.-hr.  output,  over 
what  was  necessary  in  the  earlier  small  stations.  Present-da}^  power  com- 
panies can  well  afford  to  include  as  a part  of  their  permanent  organization, 
engineering  specialists  whose  sole  duties  are  to  watch  and  improve  the 
overall  economies  of  the  generating  stations.  Here  it  is  that  the  greatest 


52 


for  1PRIL,  1917 

economies  can  be  secured,  and  this  is  being  followed  in  American  practice 
tod;  y. 

The  successful  development  of  steam  and  electric  measuring  and  recording 
devices,  perfected  by  the  manufacturers  in  large  part  at  the  demand  of 
the  Power  Companies,  has  rendered  possible  what ‘is  practically  a continuous 
“plant  test.” 

. propose  to  show  you  diagrams  and  views  of  large-capacity  plant  electrical 
equipment,  which  are  typical  of  the  best  American  practice  for  Power 
Companies  serving  large  metropolitan  territories  and  the  adjoining  smaller 
cities,  including  the  supply  to  railroad  electrification  and  urban,  suburban 
and  interurban  traction  lines. 

The  system  which  I have  taken  as  typical,  is  that  of  The  Philadelphia 
Electric  Company  and  its  subsidiary  companies. 

This  will  be  followed  by  data  and  views  of  representative  American  power 
stations,  from  coast  to  coast. 

To  adequately  describe  the  Philadelphia  system,  I wish  to  call  your  atten- 
tion to  PLATE  I,  facing  page  53. 

This  plate  shows  diagrammatically  the  whole  layout  of  the  system,  including 
generating  stations,  distributing  lines,  sub-stations  and  customers.  The 
diagram  has  been  prepared  to  show  typical  circuits  only,  i.  e.,  it  illustrates 
one  of  every  type  of  sub-station  and  one  of  every  type  of  customer.  Details 
have  been  consistently  omitted. 

The  general  arrangement  of  the  diagram  is  as  follows : At  the  top  are 
shown  the  generating  stations,  and  lower  down  the  sub-stations  and  cus- 
tomers. You  will  notice  that  the  generating  station  in  the  upper  left-hand 
corner  contains  generators  of  both  25-  and  60-cycles.  The  feeders  from 
the  25-cycle  system  lead  to  urban  and  interurban  street  railways;  also  to 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  electrification,  which  is  a single-phase  load. 

The  presence  of  large  single-phase  loads  on  the  25-cycle  system  makes  a 
phase-balancer  desirable,  in  order  to  utilize  the  full  capacity  of  the  poly- 
phase generators. 

The  60-cycle  system  has  no  predominately  large  single-phase  loads,  conse- 
quently the  phase-balancers  are  omitted  from  that  system. 

The  25-  and  60-cycle  systems  are  independent,  except  for  the  frequency- 
changer  sets.  This  apparatus  couples  the  two  systems  together,  enabling 
an  interchange  of  energy  to  take  place ; for  example,  should  reasons  of 
economy  or  reliability  make  it  desirable,  the  25-cycle  buses  may  be  fed 
from  the  60-cycle  generators  or  vice-versa. 

Another  feature  of  the  system  designed  to  promote  continuity  of  service 
is  the  duplicate  sets  of  bus  bars  installed  throughout  the  generating  stations, 
and  in  the  important  sub-stations.  * 


53 


CURRENT  NEWS 


The  generating  station  in  the  upper  right-hand  corner  is  geographically 
located  sixteen  miles  from  that  in  the  left-hand  corner.  The  location  of 
the  former  is  desirable  for  engineering  and  economic  reasons  and  the 
intervening  distance  is  spanned  by  a 66,000-volt  transmission  line. 

The  many  types  of  sub-stations  needed  to  suit  the  varied  requirements  of 
the  industrial  activities  of  a large  center  of  population  are  shown.  The 
large  variety  of  requirements  for  different  kinds  of  energy,  which  it  is  true 
is  not  desirable  from  an  engineering  standpoint,  has  arisen  from  the  fact 
that  the  early  installations  were  in  no  way  uniform.  To  meet  these  needs, 
the  several  types  of  sub-station  have  been  developed. 

The  map  on  page  55  indicates  the  extent  of  the  territory  served  by  the 
Philadelphia  system. 


54 


for  APRIL,  1917 


aamm  smrara  m 


TYPICAL  AMERICAN  POWER  C< 


ULTIMATE  CAPACITY 


CHESTER  • WATERSIDE  • STATIC 

120,000  KILO-WATTS  • • 30,000-K.W.  S' 


^PANY  GENERATING  STATION 

• • CHESTER  • PENNSYLVANIA 

4 TURBINE  UNITS  • * STATION  UNDER  CONSTRUCTION  - 1917 


CURRENT  NEWS 


for  APRIL,  1917 


59 


STATIONS  "h'2 " (in  foreground)  AND  "A'l”,  26th  TO  28th  AND  CHRISTIAN  STREETS,  PHILADELPHIA 
COMBINED  GENERATING  CAPACITY  (1916):  150,000  KILOWATTS 


CURRENT  NEWS 


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60 


AT  PRESENT  THE  WORLD’S  LARGEST  MACHINE 


for  APRIL,  1917 


ARSENAL  SUB- STATION,  PHILADELPHIA 

13,200-VOLT  ENERGY  FROM  STATION  "A-2"  IS  "STEPPED  UP"  IN  THIS  PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD 
SUB-STATION  AND  TRANSMITTED  AT  44,000  VOLTS  TO  THE  RAILROAD'S  SUB-STATIONS 


PENNSYLVANIA  fc.  K.  ELECTRIFICATION 

TYPICAL  CONSTRUCTION  ALONG  THE  MAIN  LINE.  SINGLE-PHASE  ENERGY  AT  11,000  VOLTS 
IS  DELIVERED  TO  THE  TRAINS  FROM  THE  TROLLEY 


61 


CURRENT  NEWS 


CROSSING  TOWERS  (OVEK  SCHUYLKILL  RIVEFk) 

FOK  THE  66,000'VOLT  TRANSMISSION  LINE  BETWEEN  STATION  "A-2”,  PHILADELPHIA  AND 
THE  CHESTER.  WATERSIDE  STATION,  CHESTER.,  PENNSYLVANIA 


for  APRIL,  1917 


TYPICAL  SYNCHRONOUS  CONVERTER  METROPOLITAN  SUBSTATION 

SUPPLYING  A PART  OF  THE  EDISON  D-C  DISTRICT— SUB- STATION  "E",  PHILADELPHIA 


MOTOK'GENERATOK  ARC  LIGHTING  SUBSTATION 
SUPPLYING  SERIES  CIRCUITS  IN  MUNICIPAL  STREET  LIGHTING  AND  COMMERCIAL  SERVICE 
SUB-STATION  "F\  PHILADELPHIA 

63 


CURRENT  NEWS 


TYPICAL  P.  E.  CO.  SUB-STATIONS 


SUBSTATION  "P” 


SUBSTATION  "F" 


PASCHALL  SUBSTATION 


CHESTNUT  HILL  SUBSTATION 


THESE  sub-stations,  typical  of  American  Power  Company  Practice,  are 
designed  for  the  most  efficient  distribution  of  electrical  energy.  Substantial 
buildings,  proof,  as  nearly  as  human  foresight  can  make  them,  against  internal 
and  external  fires,  equipped  with  modern,  efficient  and  well-designed  apparatus, 
are  necessary  to  insure  the  community  served  of  continuity  of  electrical  service. 
Continuity  of  service  being  as  it  is  the  watchword  of  the  Power  Company  is 
insured  by  using  the  best  of  brains,  labor  and  material  in  the  construction  and 
operation  of  the  sub-stations  which  are  the  “energy  centers”  of  the  system 


64 


for  APRIL,  1917 


REPRESENTATIVE 
AMERICAN  POWER 
STATIONS 


TYPICAL  OF  THE  BEST  POWEK 
COMPANY  PRACTICE 
1917 


llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllli? 


65 


CURRENT  NEWS 


SPOKANE  • WASHINGTON  • SYSTEM 

THE  • WASHINGTON  • WATEK  • POWEK  • COMPANY 


NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS  : 5 • COMBINED  CAPACITY  : 105,000  K.W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAR  1916):  162,800,000-K.  W.^HR 


for  APRIL,  1917 


CENTRAL  • CALIFORNIA  • SYSTEM 

THE  • PACIFIC  • GAS  • AND  • ELECTRIC  • COMPANY 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS  : 1 4 • COMBINED  CAPACITY  : 195,150  K.W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAR,  1916):  768,300,0004CW.*HR. 


VIEW  OF  ELECTRA  POWER,  HOUSE  AND  PIPE  LINE 


GENERATING  ROOM  OF  THE  ELECTRA  POWER,  HOUSE 

67 


CURRENT  NEWS 


SOUTHERN  • CALIFORNIA  • SYSTEM 

THE  • SOUTHERN  • CALIFORNIA  • EDISON  • COMPANY 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS:  9 • COMBINED  CAPACITY:  86,100  K.  W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAR,  1916):  300,000,000'K.  W.-HR. 


KERN  RIVER*  POWER  PLANT 


for  APRIL,  1917 


NEW  STATION  OF  THE  UNION  GAS  AND  ELECTRIC  CO.  (UNDER  CONSTRUCTION) 
ULTIMATE  CAPACITY:  240,00(LK.  W. 


JOPLIN  • MISSOURI  • SYSTEM 

THE  HENRY  L.  DOHERTY  &-  CO.  INTERESTS 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS:  52  • COMBINED  CAPACITY  : 206,000  K.W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAR,  1916):  553,900,000^K.  W.^HR. 


CINCINNATI  ■ OHIO  • SYSTEM 

THE  UNION  GAS  AND  ELECTRIC  COMPANY 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS : 3 • COMBINED  CAPACITY : 95,000  K.  W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAR,  1916):  104,300, 000TC.W.^HR. 


MAIN  GENERATING  STATION  OF  THE  EMPIRE  DISTRICT 

69 


CURRENT  NEWS 


ST.  LOUIS  • MISSOURI  • SYSTEM 

UNION  ELECTRIC  LIGHT  AND  POWEK  CO. 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS : 1 • TOTAL  CAPACITY : 1 16,000  K.W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAK.  1916):  200,000.000'K.  W.^HFL. 


CHATTANOOGA  • TENNESSEE  • SYSTEM 

HALES  BAK  HYDROELECTRIC 
DEVELOPMENT 


POWER.  HOUSE  AT  HALES  BAK 


ASHLEY  STREET  STATION 


for  APRIL,  1917 


KEOKUK,  IOWA,  SYSTEM 

THE  MISSISSIPPI  RIVEK  POWEK  COMPANY 


NUMBEK  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS  : 1 TOTAL  CAPACITY  : 1 1 1,000  K.W. 
OUTPUT  (YE AK  1916):  393,500, 00(MC  W.^HK. 


THE  KEOKUK  POWEK  STATION  SHOWING  DAM 


CURRENT  NEWS 


CHICAGO  * ILLINOIS  ■ SYSTEM 

THE  COMMONWEALTH  EDISON  COMPANY 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS:  5 • COMBINED  CAPACITY:  472,100  K.W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAK,  1916):  1,342,000,000^K.W.^HK. 


PANORAMA  OF  FISK  AND  QUARRY  STREET  STATIONS 


for  APRIL,  1917 


DETROIT  • MICHIGAN  ■ SYSTEM 

THE  DETROIT  EDISON  COMPANY 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS:  7 • COMBINED  CAPACITY:  154,075  K.W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAK,  1916):  562,000,000-K. W.^HR. 


CURRENT  NEWS 


NIAGARA  • FALLS  • NEW  • YORK  • SYSTEM 

THE  NIAGARA  FALLS  POWEK  COMPANY 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS  : 3 • COMBINED  CAPACITY  : 157,000  K.W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAR,  1916):  1,0 15,400,000-K.W.'HP,. 


POWEK  HOUSE  NO.  2 OF  NIAGARA  FALLS  POWEK  CO. 


for  APRIL,  1917 


BOSTON  • MASSACHUSETTS  * SYSTEM 

THE  EDISON  ELECTRIC  ILLUMINATING  CO.  OF  BOSTON 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS : 3 • COMBINED  CAPACITY : 1 15,40(MOW. 
OUTPUT  (YEAK  1916):  237,500,00(MOW.*HK. 


"L”  STREET  STATION  FROM  THE  WATER  FRONT 


CURRENT  NEWS 


NEW  YORK  CITY  SYSTEM 

THE  NEW  YORK  EDISON  COMPANY 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS  : 2 • COMBINED  CAPACITY : 286,500  K.W. 
OUTPUT  FOR  YEAR  1916  (INCLUDING  U.  E.  L.  dr  P.  CO.):  856,400,000  K.W.^HR. 


TURBINE  ROOM  OF  STATION  NO.  2 

76 


WATERSIDE  STATION  NO.  2 


for  APRIL,  1917 


BROOKLYN  ■ NEW  YORK  • SYSTEM 

THE  EDISON  ELECTRIC  ILLUMINATING  COMPANY,  OF  BROOKLYN 
NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS:  2 • COMBINED  CAPACITY : 81,250  K.W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAR,  1916):  233,500,000-K.  W.^HK. 


GOLD  STREET  STATION 


THE  OPERATING  FLOOR  OF  THE  GOLD  STREET  STATION 

77 


CURRENT  NEWS 


NEWARK  • NEW  JERSEY  • SYSTEM 

PUBLIC  SERVICE  ELECTRIC  COMPANY 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS  : 20  • COMBINED  CAPACITY : 224,500  K.W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAR:  1916):  607,000,000-K.W.-HR. 


for  APRIL,  1917 


BALTIMORE  • MARYLAND  • SYSTEM 

THE  CONSOLIDATED  GAS,  ELECTRIC  LIGHT 
AND  POWER  COMPANY  OF  BALTIMORE 
NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS : 2 • COMBINED  CAPACITY  66,000  K. W. 
OUTPUT  (YEAK  1916):  249,800.000  K.  W.  HRs. 


CURRENT  NEWS 


NORTH  • CAROLINA  • SYSTEM 

THE  • SOUTHERN  • POWEK  • COMPANY 

NUMBER  OF  GENERATING  STATIONS  : 10  - COMBINED  CAPACITY  : 160,000  K.W. 


NINETY'NINE  ISLANDS  POWER  STATION 


for  APRIL,  1917 


CONTRAST  THE  ARCHITECTURAL  FEATURES  OF  THE 
FOREGOING  AMERICAN  POWEK  STATIONS  WITH  THESE 
CONTINENTAL  PLANTS: 


POWEK  PLANT  AT  GREENWICH  (ENGLAND)  WHEN  COMPLETE,  BUT  NOT  SHOWING 
PIEK  AND  COAL  HANDLING  PLANT 

—Reproduced  from  " STEAM'ELECTRIC  POWER  PLANTS"  by  FRANK  KOESTEK,  1910 


ARCHITECTURAL  EXAMPLE  — OBERERZGEBIRG,  ELECTRICITY  WORKS 
Architect,  DK.  W.  KLINGENBERG,  BERLIN 

—Reproduced  from  " LARGE  ELECTRIC  POWEK  STATIONS"  by  DK.  G.  S.  KLINGENBERG,  1916 

81 


CURRENT  NEWS 


THE  POWEK  COMPANY’S  PROBLEMS  AND  FUTURE 


The  Opportunity  for  Technically-trained  Men  in  the  Industry 


SECTION  V: 


F the  many  problems  which  confront  the  modern  Power  Company,  the 


two,  which  are  perhaps  of  the  most  vital  importance,  are  those  of 
economy  and  reliability . Each  of  these  problems  is  important  not  only  to 
the  company  itself  but  to  its  customers.  Both  are  so  broad  that  they  may 
be  attacked  from  many  different  angles  and  points  of  vantage. 

Consider  economy  for  a moment  and  what  it  really  means  to  the  Power 
Company!  We  can  immediately  subdivide  economy  into  two  broad 
branches : economy  of  plant  and  economy  of  personnel.  Plant  here  is  used 
in  the  general  sense,  i.  e.,  to  include  all  company  property  from  the  coal 
pile  straight  through  to  the  customer’s  premises.  The  maintenance  of  all 
this  tremendous  variety  and  quantity  of  apparatus  in  the  most  efficient 
operating  condition  is  a work  of  no  mean  proportions.  The  various  ways 
and  means  in  which  operation  can  be  improved  in  this  great  system  are, 
of  course,  endless,  and  much  too  detailed  to  be  considered  here.  I merely 
wish  to  point  out  as  an  example  that  large  economies  have  been  effected  by 
properly  proportioning  each  distributing  transformer  to  its  load.  If  a 
large  economy  can  be  attained  thus,  imagine  how  such  factors  as  firing  of 
boilers,  proportioning  of  load  to  generators  and  innumerable  other  factors 
will  affect  the  economy. 

The  second  phase  of  economy  is  that  of  the  personnel.  The  personnel 
consists  broadly  of  two  parts : executives  and  employees.  Upon  the  extent 
to  which  all  the  personnel  co-operates  depends  the  economy  of  the  system 
as  a whole.  The  skillful  management  of  the  Power  Company  and  its  various 
departments  has  really  as  much  to  do  with  the  economy  of  its  production 
as  the  water  rates  of  its  turbines  or  the  price  it  pays  for  coal.  The 
efficiency  with  which  the  employees  work  depends,  of  course,  upon  the 
executives,  and  it  is  fully  as  important  to  economy  as  the  work  of  the 
executives.  The  manner  in  which  each  employee  carries  out  his  daily  task, 
however  large  or  small,  has  a direct  bearing  upon  the  economy  of  the 
company.  A good  esprit  de  corps  is  as  much  to  be  prized  as  an  efficient 
generating  station.  True,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  latter  often  makes 
the  former  more  easily  obtainable. 

The  question  of  reliability  in  the  Power  Company’s  work  is  essential;  the 
watchword  of  the  Power  Companies  is  “continuity  of  service.”  This  problem 
can  be  considered  in  much  the  same  way  as  that  of  economy,  namely,  from 
the  side  of  equipment  and  from  the  human  side,  both  of  which  are  essential 
and  dependent  upon  each  other.  The  equipment  side  may  be  helped  in 


82 


for  APRIL,  1917 

numerous  ways,  such  as  reserve  apparatus,  duplicate  auxiliaries  and  buses, 
protective  devices,  etc. ; while  the  human  side  can  be  developed  by  the 
careful  training  of  the  men  employed. 

Another  of  the  great  problems  which  the  Power  Company  has  to  meet  is 
that  of  properly  providing  for  its  continued  growth  and  expansion.  This 
problem  involves  increasing  all  parts  of  the  plant,  generating  station, 
distributing  lines  and  sub-stations,  at  the  same  time  maintaining  reliability 
of  service  and  economy  of  operation. 

Exactly  what  the  future  holds  for  the  power  company  from  the  technical 
standpoint  is  extremely  chimerical  and  uncertain.  From  the  great  develop- 
ment through  which  the  Industry  has  passed  in  the  last  few  decades,  it  is 
reasonable  to  prophesy  that  still  greater  strides  will  be  made  in  the  develop- 
ment of  prime  movers,  in  the  transmission  of  energy  over  long  distances 
and  in  the  still  greater  application  of  electrical  energy  to  the  many 
industrial  activities  of  the  country  at  large. 

From  economic  considerations  it  is  easy  to  foresee  the  Electrical  Industry  as 
widely  developing  in  the  future.  The  extension  and  interlacing  of  vast 
networks  of  copper  for  the  distribution  of  electrical  energy  has  already 
gone  so  far  that  shortly  we  may  expect  them  to  cover  the  surface  of  the 
country  as  completely  as  do  the  railroads,  railways  and  roads.  There  is 
also  little  doubt  but  that  electricity  will  become  more  and  more  of  a house- 
hold servant  than  it  is  at  present.  The  field  of  application  to  transportation 
problems  is  practically  unlimited,  and  it  is  extremely  hard  to  predict  what 
vast  changes  a few  years  may  bring  forth.  Transportation,  of  course, 
includes  railways  and  automobiles,  in  which  latter  field  the  electric  truck 
has  made  such  strides. 

Innumerable  examples  could  be  cited,  but  the  few  cases  which  I have 
mentioned  will  serve  to  give  some  indication  of  what  tremendous  fields  are 
opening  up  every  year  to  the  Electrical  Power  Company. 

The  curve  on  page  91  shows  what  the  growth  has  been  in  Philadelphia, 
and  is  typical  of  the  general  trend  of  the  industry  throughout  the  country. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  even  when  the  country  was  under  the  stressed 
financial  conditions  of  1907,  the  curve  did  not  fall  back,  but  has 
continuously  had  an  upward  trend.  It  is  chiefly  upon  this  curve  that  I 
base  my  assertion  that  the  college  man  has  unparalleled  opportunities  in 
the  Power  Company  today.  The  reason  is  self-evident. 

Realizing  that  the  power  company  needs  men  of  the  highest  type  and 
education,  for  the  successful  achievement  of  its  problems  and  accomplish- 
ment of  its  work,  several  of  the  leading  companies  have  organized  what  are 
termed  cadet  engineering  courses.  The  object  of  these  is  to  familiarize  the 
technical  graduate  with  plant  property  and  the  methods  of  the  large  com- 

Continued  on  page  92 


CURRENT  NEWS 


84 


for  APRIL,  1917 


THE  PHILADELPHIA  ELECTRIC  COMPANY  app.  No.  281 

APPLICATION  FOR  DEPT.  OF  CADET  ENGINEERING 

I hereby  apply  for  enrollment  in  the  Dept,  of  Cadet  Engineering  of  The 
Philadelphia  Electric  Company 

Date  April  25  ”1917  (Signed)  Joseph  Doe. Jr. 

Local  Address:.  63  '79  Hall* Princeton, N.J. 

Permanent  Mailing  Address:  R.F  #3,  Poke vi lie  ,111. 

College:  Prln.UniV.CIass  and  Course:  E.EJ9I7  Degrees  held:BS  15, EE  17 

Do  you  e n rot  I for  the  summer  or  two  year  course?  For  2 Year  Course 


Accepted  I Cfy  xfr-auj/ 

Date  */ %?-/'<? 

• vEnte'ft 


further  comments  on  hack  i 


Reporting  Date:  7~X~ X7.i 
To  Opar.  Dapt.tOrv 


Application  No.  Sol 

The  Philadelphia  Electric  Company,  1000  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia 

DEPARTMENT  OF  CADET  ENGINEERING 


Joseph  Doe,  Jr.  o»t»  April  25*~  1917 

ittnt  rn.ii.ng  add.osa  R.F.  *3  , Pokevillo  , IilinOIS 

KMtt  63  79  Hofi , Princeton  University , Princeton. N.J. 
birth  June  4+h  1894  Ho.jht  6 ft.  0 'h  in.  w»iBM  196  lb.  American 

i Or  lioglo  S 1 11  gle  r«thor'S buoiooos Textile  Manufacturer 


PokevilfedliJ  High  School  High  School  Course  3 yr.  1910  j ...  . — „ 

Lowrenceville  School  College  Prep.  ! yr  : .1911  — 

Princeton  University  8.S.  4 yr  . j 1915  B.S.  i 

do.  E.  E.  2 yr  1917  E.  E.  i 

Wbat  port  was  takoo  in  .toitoot  sotivitiM? Varsity  fbotballTeam.SwirnrmVigTearn.  Editor  Princeton  W ; 


PREVIOUS  EXPERIENCE,  INCLUDING  remunerative  work  during  vacations  and  college  period 

KIND  6F  WORK  NAME  OF  EMPLOYER  AOORE05  MOW  LONG  EMPLOYED 

Textile  Manufacturing  Doe  & Roe  Mfg.Co.  Pokeviile PQ III.  2 Summers 
Power  HouseWork.  Poke  vi  lie  El  Light  & PrCo.  do.  1 Summer 

Car  Inspector  Pokeviile  Urban  Railways  Poke  County,  111.  1 Summer 
Executive  Offices  do  ....  do  I Summer 

P«r  cent,  college  eapenw*  earned  15  per  cent  (Approx.) 

What  brartcK  of  engineering  <to  you  b*paof  to  follow  2 Electrical  Engineering 

ITEMS  86LOW  MOT  TO  BE  TILLED  t«  BY  APPLICANT 

ProtetMrVOonuowt  PROfESSOH  A.  advises  this  »an  is  thoroughly  grounded,  has 
Bhosra  espeoial  applioation  in  his  studies  and  an  unuestsl  degree  of  inde- 
pendence.. Hae  high  reocaaendation  from  the  engineering  faculty.. 


; favorable  first  impression.  Sood  on  a-o.  theory.  Some  prac- 
tical experience  (see* above). 

Oi*arP«M  \ ~ Dwjtaon  “A  P«rwt,*tily  oK 

Ouir  Ynee,/  £apra*t!ycP«3s  - 1 *T*ct  — f 

Biestith  - T £nti>iMt«s>n  eJC  UnsiMl  ! 


J.  tflMf. 


fa/n 


APPLICATION  FORMS  FOR  DEPARTMENT  OF  CADET  ENGINEERING 

"JOSEPH  DOE,  Jr.,"  HAVING  FILLED  OUT  THE  ABOVE  FORMS,  IS  INTER- 
VIEWED BY  COMPANY  REPRESENTATIVE  AT  HIS  COLLEGE,  AND 
LATER  ADVISED  OF  THE  ACTION  TAKEN  ON  HIS  APPLICATION 


-<illllllltlllllltlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll)llllllllllllllimilllllllllil|,lllllll,mill,|lll,,lllllll(|mim,lllll|||||lI|ll|mmil,|||,fIim^ 

85 


CURRENT  NEWS 


‘JOSEPH  DOE,  Jr.",  WHEN  EMPLOYED,  IS  EXAMINED  BY  THE  COMPANY’S  PHYSICIAN 


"JOSEPH  DOE,  Jr",  WITH  FELLOW  CADET  ENGINEERS,  RECEIVING  INSTRUCTION  IN  A 
"RESUSCITATION  FROM  ELECTRIC  SHOCK”  DRILL.  PRONE-PRESSURE  METHOD  USED 

86 


for  APRIL,  1917 


I THE  SCOPE  OF  THE  ENGINEERING  DEPARTMENTS  OF 
I THE  POWEK  COMPANIES  EMBRACE  ELECTRICAL, 
I MECHANICAL  AND  CIVIL  ENGINEERING 


n i is 


87 


CURRENT  NEWS 


-JOSEPH  DOE,  Jr/'  HAS  OPPORTUNITIES  AS  A CADET 

ENGINEER,  ALIKE : 


IN  THE  DESIGN  ROOM  — 

ONE  OF  THE  PHILADELPHIA  ELECTRIC  COMPANY'S 
DRAUGHTING  ROOMS 


AND,  IN  THE  FIELD 

FIELD  ENGINEER'S  STAFF  FOFL  CONSTRUCTION  OF 
CHESTER  WATERSIDE  STATION 

88 


for  APRIL,  1917 


89 


HIS  ATHLETIC  ABILITIES  ARE  GIVEN  OPPORTUNITY  FOR  EXERCISE  AT  THE  COMPANY'S  ATHLETIC  GROUNDS, 
SITUATED  IN  THE  COUNTRY  OUTSIDE  OF  PHILADELPHIA.  BASEBALL  TENNIS,  GOLF,  SOCCER  AND  TRAP-SHOOTING 


CURRENT  NEWS 


From  a Recent  Issue 


CURRENT  NEWS  for 


CQ, 

DEPARTMENT  OF 
CADET  ENGINEERING 


P 

1 CQ 


THE  arrival  of  Spring  has  been  welcomed  by  those  cadet  engineers 
having  assignments  in  the  departments  involving  outdoor  work. 
Their  lot  is  justly  envied  by  our  staff  with  its  editorial 
responsibilities. 

Last  year  eleven  different  colleges  were  represented  by  the  cadet 
engineers  enrolled  and  this  year,  that  number  will  be  considerably 
enlarged.  The  Philadelphia  Electric  Company  is  in  an  especially 
attractive  position  to  offer  a broad  training  in  Operating  Company  work 
to  graduate  and  undergraduate  engineers.  The  present  and  prospective 
plans  for  increasing  station  capacity,  the  erection  of  high  tension  lines 
and  the  increased  activities  of  all  divisions  of  the  Engineering  Depart- 
ment indicate  a variety  of  opportunities  for  cadet  engineers  to  acquire  a 
special  training.  The  future  demands  of  this  expansion  for  trained  engi- 
neers who  have  demonstrated  their  ability  to  assume  responsibilities  is 
too  obvious  to  require  elaboration.  All  of  us  may  not  achieve  the  limit 
of  our  ambitions,  but  a personal  inventory  may  largely  explain  any 
marked  sluggishness  in  our  advancement. 


"When  training  in  practical  work  supplements  technical 
education.  Success  has  a slim  chance  of  getting  away!" 


Director 


PERSONALS 

The  ranks  of  the  cadet  engineers  were  increased  in  March  by  the 
transfer  of  Norman  F.  Rigor  of  the  Testing  Section  and  Peter  A.  Cautilli 
of  the  Distribution  Department  to  the  Department  of  Cadet  Engineer- 
ing. These  two  men  are  the  first  employees  to  take  advantage  of  the 
opportunity  afforded  present  employees  who  are  not  university  graduates 
to  enroll  as  cadet  engineers.  They  successfully  passed  the  requirements 
of  the  Examining  Committee  and  their  very  creditable  records  as 
employees  should  make  their  future  success  assured. 

O.  Denny  Brereton  has  been  enrolled  as  a two-year  cadet  after 
recently  graduating  from  Princeton  University  in  Civil  Engineering. 
He  spent  last  summer  in  the  Field  Engineering  Department  and  his  first 
assignment  is  the  Aerial  Department  under  the  able  supervision  of  Air. 
J.  C.  Cross. 

222' 


90 


kilowatt  peak 


for  APRIL,  1917 


1905  1910  1915 

"A  CONTINUOUS  UPWARD  SLOPE  SHOWS  THE 
UNLIMITED  OPPORTUNITIES  IN  THE  INDUSTRY” 


THIS  IS  A MATTEK  FOK  CONSID^ 
ERATION  BY  THE  COLLEGE  MAN  I 


91 


CURRENT  NEWS 


pany;  also  to  enable  him  to  obtain  a birds-eye  view  of  the  company  as  a 
whole  without  losing  himself  in  the  maze  of  necessary  but  involved  detail. 

' The  courses  aim  to  put  the  cadet  consecutively  in  the  plants  and  out  with 
the  service  gangs,  etc.,  for  a period  of  usually  two  years.  In  this  way  there 
is  obtained  an  intimate  and  first-hand  knowledge  of  the  work,  the  fellow- 
employee  and  his  attitude  of  mind.  The  personal  knowledge  thus  gained 
of  the  men  and  their  problems  is  of  intense  value  later  on,  when  the  cadet 
may  be  called  upon  to  direct  their  efforts.  The  courses  for  cadet  engineers 
may  be  readily  likened  to  the  hospital  training  of  a young  physician, 
immediately  after  he  has  taken  his  college  degree. 

As  a reminder,  I wish  again  to  call  your  attention  to  the  curve  on  page 
11  which  shows  the  past  growth  of  the  industry.  It  predicts  to  even 
the  most  unimaginative  mind  a brilliant  future. 

A far-reaching  influence  in  the  choice  of  his  life  Work  should  he  the  Opportunities  held 
out  today  by  the  Power  Companies  to  the  university-trained  man  ! 


92 


for  APRIL,  1917 


THE  HUMAN  SIDE  OF  THE  POWEK  COMPANY 
ORGANIZATION 


SECTION  VI: 

BEFORE  going  Oil  with  the  organization  of  the  Power  Company,  let  us 
consider  for  a moment  some  of  the  special  conditions  which  it  must 
face  and  meet  successfully.  Primarily,  sight  must  not  be  lost  of  the  fact 
that  the  supply  of  electricity  is  a public  service  and  must  go  on  con- 
tinuously despite  any  unfavorable  external  conditions  which  may  obtain. 
In  other  words,  service  must  be  always  uppermost  in  the  mind  of  the 
employee  of  the  Power  Company.  The  company  property  is  valuable  and 
must  be  handled  by  responsible  and  trained  men ; men  who  are  consistently 
muddle-headed  or  forgetful  cannot  be  tolerated. 

A certain  unique  condition  which  holds  for  the  production  of  electrical 
energy,  which  means  a good  deal  to  operation,  is  the  fact  that  the  energy 
must  be  generated  at  exactly  the  same  rate  at  which  it  is  required,  or  to  put 
it  differently,  it  is  not  possible  to  manufacture  and  store  up  economically 
electrical  energy  ahead  of  time  to  await  an  anticipated  demand.  This 
condition,  although  axiomatic  of  the  most  fundamental  elements  of  the 
science,  is  often  lost  sight  of,  but  is  particularly  significant  inasmuch  as  it 
implies  that  all  equipment  should  be  maintained  in  first-class  operating 
condition  ready  for  instant  use. 

The  conditions  which  I have  outlined  will  show  you  that  the  Power  Com- 
pany must  meet  particularly  hard  requirements,  especially  with  regard  to 
service.  The  organization  to  do  this  must  be  a co-operative  body  of  trained 
employees,  each  one  of  whom  is  especially  responsible  for  the  successful 
execution  of  his  own  work.  A glance  at  page  94  will  show  you  a typical 
Power  Company  organization,  and  lead  to  a realization  of  the  diversified 
force  necessary  to  prosecute  the  work  in  hand.  The  illustrations  on  pages 
95  to  100  show  in  greater  detail  the  work  of  some  of  the  power  company 
departments. 

The  attention  which  is  given  to  the  general  advancement  and  well-being  of 
its  men  by  the  Power  Company  is  a necessary  adjunct  to  its  most  efficient 
organization.  The  company  considers  it  part  of  its  duty  toward  its  men 
to  look  after  their  mental  and  physical  welfare.  In  this  branch  of  enlight- 
ened activity,  the  Power  Company  has  been  a pioneer,  for  the  responsible 
and  complicated  nature  of  its  work  has  made  it  quick  to  realize  that  making 
a happy  employee  is  the  greatest  step  it  can  take  toward  promoting  general 
co-operation  and  efficiency  within  itself. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  single  step  which  has  been  taken  for  the  welfare  of 
the  employee  is  the  establishment  of  what  is  often  known  as  a beneficial 

Continued  on  page  iio 


93 


CURRENT  NEWS 


^iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiuiiiimiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimim^ 


THE  MAKE-UP  OF  A POWER 
COMPANY  ORGANIZATION 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  EMPLOYMENT 
THE  PHILADELPHIA  ELECTRIC  CO. 

JANUARY,  1,  1917 


Department 

No.  Employees 

Percentage 

Executive 

...  30 

0.9 

Engineering  and  Construction  . . 

...  276 

8.2 

Generation 

...  803 

23.9 

Transmission  and  Distribution  . . 

...  831 

24.9 

Customers  Premises  (See  Chart) 

. . . 614 

18.2 

Commercial 

...  569 

16.8 

Accounting  

...  240 

7.1 

Total  Number  Employees  . . . 

. . . 3363 

100.0 

iriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmiiiiiitiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 


94 


for  APRIL,  1917 

HiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiimuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiMiiiitiiiiiiimmiiiiiiimiim 


1 “SAFETY  FIRST”  IN  THE  POWER  COMPANIES 

ACCIDENT  PREVENTION  WOKK  IS  CAR- 
RIED ON  THROUGHOUT  THE  INDUSTRY 


Conveniently  Located  at  Various  Points,  Are  a Help 
in  Accident  Prevention 


TYPICAL  ' BULLETIN” 


SAFETY  BULLETIN  BOARDS 


THROUGH  CO-OPERATION  WITH  THE  NATIONAL  SAFETY  ORGANIZATION,  THE 
NATIONAL  SAFETY  COUNCIL,  OF  CHICAGO,  AND  WITH  THE  N.  E L.  A.  BUREAU 
OF  SAFETY,  BULLETINS  AND  DATA  ARE  AVAILABLE,  AND  ORGANIZED  ACCIDENT 
PREVENTION  WORK  IS  MADE  A PART  OF  POWER  COMPANY  ADMINISTRATION 


95 


CURRENT  NEW‘ 

IN  THE  POWEK  COMPANY,  THE  COMMERCIAL  ANC 


TYPICAL  STREET  CAK 
POSTERS 


MC^MPANYj 


Why  Worry?  — Use  Electric  Fans! 


Keeping  Cooi- 
Means 

Keeping  Well 


The  PHILADELPHIA  ELECTRIC  COMPANY 


20.000 


Electric  Light  and 
_ _ Power  Contracts 

tor  an  equivalent  of  two  million  20-candle- 
power  lamps  were  secured  by  us  during 
1916.  The  reason— our  rates  are  right; 
so  is  our  service. 

We  want  to  serve  YOU! 


THE  MANY  OTHER,  FORMS  OF  PUBLICITY,  EMPLOYED,  INCLUDE  POSTERS  ON  COMPAN' 
TRUCKS  AND  ON  BILLBOARDS,  NEWSPAPER.  LOCAL  MAGAZINES  AND  THEATRE  PRO 


96 


for  APRIL,  1917 

PUBLICITY  DEPARTMENTS  WORK  HAND'IN'HAND 


COMPANY  "BULLETINS”  SENT  OUT  PERIODICALLY 
TO  CUSTOMERS 


GRAM  ADVERTISING.  FOLDERS  ENCLOSED  IN  BILLS  TO  CUSTOMERS,  ELECTRIC  SIGN 
DISPLAY,  ATTRACTIVE  "ELECTRIC  SHOPS",  COMMERCIAL  DISTRICT  OFFICES,  ETC. 


CURRENT  NEWS 


DIVERSITY  OF  DEPARTMENTAL  ACTIVITY  IN  THE 
POWER  COMPANY 


INSPECTION  OF  AN  INDUSTRIAL  SUB'STATION 


MACHINE  SHOP  FOR  PLANT  MAINTENANCE 


OPERATING  DIVISION 

98 


for  APRIL,  1917 

DIVERSITY  OF  DEPARTMENTAL  ACTIVITY  IN  THE 
POWER.  COMPANY 


TRUCK  " HAULINGiN”  UNDERGROUND  CABLE 


DISTRIBUTION  DIVISION 


PAINTING  AN  OUTDOOR,  SUB-STATION 

CONSTRUCTION  DIVISION 
99 


CURRENT  NEWS 


DIVERSITY  OF  DEPARTMENTAL  ACTIVITY  IN  THE 
POWEK  COMPANY 


ROUTINE  METEK  TESTING 


SPECIAL  TESTING  OF  BUS  BAR  INSULATORS 


METEK  DIVISION 

100 


for  APRIL,  1917 


.O  o ° < 

S§ 

LU  •- 

«J  > o ’ 
coo 
o . 

'£5  <4-1  >" 

«J  o <£ 

Z . S'  ^ 

o ~£  -£  _ 

rf  fe  c • 
H _o  _h 


Filiniiiritmi  iiiiiin  iiiniiiu  ti 


iiiiiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiililiiiiiiiiililllilllllllllliliniiilliiii 


101 


with  upwards  or  600  men,  the  pick  of  the  industry,  serving  on  these  committees.  Approximately 
4000  members  attended  the  1916  Convention,  held  at  Chicago,  and  the  average  attendance  for 
all  Conventions,  1885-1916,  is  nearly  3000,  with  a total  of  upwards  of  29,000  delegates  registered 
in  the  last  ten  years ! 


CURRENT  NEWS 


THE  TECHNICAL  LIT 
BY  - THE  • NATIONAL 
ASSOCIATION  • COM- 
THOUGHT  • OF • THE 
IN  • THE  - WHOLE 


ERATURE  SENT  OUT 
ELECTRIC  • LIGHT 
PRISES  • THE  • BEST 
BRIGHTEST  • MEN 
OF  - THE  - INDUSTRY  I 


SINCE  ITS  FIRST  ISSUE  IN  AUGUST. 
1907,  THE  N.  E.  L.  A.  BULLETIN  HAS 
PRINTED  • OVEK  • 6000  • PAGES 


THE  "QUESTION  BOX”,  SINCE  1901,  HAS  CON- 
TAINED 5,686  QUESTIONS  AND  20,377  ANSWERS 


RATHEK  LONGEK  THAN  DR.  FLIOT’S  "5-FOOT  SHELF"! 
N.  E.  L.  A.  CONVENTION  PROCEEDINGS:  1885-  1 9 1 6 


Over  800,000  pieces  of  printed  matter  were  printed  and  distributed  last  year. 
This  included  copies  of  the  ''Bulletin/'  bound  volumes  of  the  "Proceedings," 
some  half  dozen  publications  of  the  Commercial  Section,  four  Handbooks, 
the  Resuscitation  Chart  and  Booklet,  etc.,  etc. 

102 


for  APRIL,  1917 


“FROM  COAST  TO  COAST  ARE  FOUND 
THE  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  GEOGRAPH- 
ICAL SECTIONS  OF  THE  N.  E.  L.  A.” 


MS  m ; a ' 

A TYPICAL  " SECTION  CONVENTION  " GROUP 

DELEGATES  AT  A PENNSYLVANIA  STATE  ELECTRIC 
ASSOCIATION  CONVENTION,  AT 
BEDFORD  SPRINGS,  PENNSYLVANIA 


THERE  ARE  ELEVEN  GEOGRAPHICAL  SECTIONS  IN  THE 

NATIONAL  - ELECTRIC  • LIGHT*  ASSOCIATION 


103 


p. ; ■■  • ■ ;.  /p,. ..  - j 


CURRENT  NEWS 


THH 

BALTIMORE 
GAS  & w.FrrRic 
NEWS 


SYNCHROSCOPE 


?»«.  EDISON 
ROUNDTABLE 


“The  Company  Section 
Magazines,  published 
by  and  in  the  interests 
of  the  memberships  of 
the  N.  E.  L.  A.  “Com- 
pany Sections”,  have 
contributed  their  share 
towards  the  advance- 
ment  of  the  Power 
Company  Industry. 


BROOKLYN 

BULLETIN 


% "Ne 
■f  Olnited  Sfleit 

MARCH  U> 


jiglit  (ompanv^c 


: j|  Tt<M$on- 

Current 

Oopics 


amjgp 

NWS 


104 


for  APRIL,  1917 


THE  NATIONAL  ELECTRIC  LIGHT  ASSOCIATION  " COMPANY 
SECTIONS"  FORMED  IN  MANY  OF  THE  LARGER,  MEMBER 
COMPANIES,  RECEIVE  ENTHUSIASTIC  SUPPORT  FROM  THEIK 

MEMBERSHIPS: 


The  N.E.L.A.  COMPANY  SECTIONS 

From 

a Recent  Country-Wide  Canvass  by 

Our  Section  Secretary  Present 

Organized 

Membership 

August' 

24,  1908 

Commonwealth  Edison  Co.,  Chicago,  111 1&87- 

September  17,  1908 

Public  Service  Co.  of  Northern  Illinois,  Chicago,  111 . 

230 

October 

2,  1908 

Edison  Electric  Illuminating  Co.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y . 

1130 

October 

19,  1908 

Edison  Electric  Illuminating  Co.,  Boston,  Mass 

200 

March, 

15,  1909 

PHILADELPHIA  ELECTRIC  CO.,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA 

925 

March 

17,  1909 

Public  Service  Electric  Co..  Newark,  N-  J . . . . 

853 

May 

28,  1909 

Consolidated  Gas,  Electric  Lt.  and  Power  Co.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

57/  I 

September 

1,  1909 

Rochester  Railway  and  Light  Co.,  Rochester,  N.  Y.  . . , 

40 

September 

1909 

Toronto  Electric  Light  Co.'Ltd.,  Toronto,  Ont 

2 

October 

22,  1909 

Buffalo  Company  Section,  Buffalo,  N.  Y r 

218 

1909 

West  Penn  Electric  Co.,  Connellsville,  Pa 

1909 

Denver  Gas  and  Electric  Light  Co.,  Denver,  Colo 

March 

21,  1910  ' 

Union  Electric  Light  and  Power  Co.,  St.  Louis,  Mo .......... 

June 

29,  1910 

Syracuse  Lighting  Co.,  Syracuse,  N.  Y 

175 

November 

1910 

New  York  Companies’  Section,  New  York  

1568  I 

February 

2,  1911 

Duquesne  Light  Co.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa % 

991  1 

April 

11,  1911 

Empire  District  Electric  Co,.,  Joplin,  Mo 

41 

May 

19,  1911 

Milwaukee  Electric  Railway  and  Light  Co.,  Milwaukee,  Wis. 

115  1 

November 

9,  1911 

Ottawa1  Electric  Co.,  Ottawa,  Ont 

■ 14  I 

December 

11,  1911 

Pacific  Power  and  Light  Co.,  Portland,  Ore >, 

85  I 

1911 

Penn  Central  Light  and  Power  Co.,  Altoona,  Pa 

250  1 

January 

24,  1912 

Hamilton  Cataract  Pwr.,  Lt.  and  Traction  Co.,  IJamilton,  Ont 

14  1 

August 

9,  1912 

Kansas  City  Light  and  Power  Co.,  Kansas  City,  Mo 

82 

October 

17,  1912 

Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Co.,  San  Francisco,  Cal  r 

409 

December  l7,  1912 

Illinois  Northern  Utilities  Co..  Dixon,  111 . t (.  .... . 

25 

March 

10,  1913 

Roanoke  Railway  and  Electric  Co.,  Roanoke,  Va 

39 

May 

2,  1913 

Trinidad  Electric  Trans.  Ry.  and  Gas  Co.,  Trinidad,  Colo. . . 

35 

June 

30,  1914 

Lehigh  Valley  Light  and  Power  Co.,  Allentown,  Pa 

50 

December 

15,  1914 

Manila  Electric  R.  R.  and  Light  Co.,  Manila,  P.  I 

January 

11,  1915 

Rumford  Falls  Light  and  Water  Co.,  Rumford,  Me 

24 

January 

21,  1915 

Consolidated  Gas  Co.  of  New  Jersey,  Long  Branch,  N.  J ... . 

■ 7 

January 

28,  1915 

Union  Gas  and  Electric  Co.,  Cincinnati,  O 

243 

February 

2,  1915 

Mansfield  Railway,  Light  and  Power  Co.,  Mansfield,  O.  . 

12 

February 

-3,  1915 

Dayton  Power  and  Light  Co.,  Dayton,  O 

80" 

March 

29,  1915 

Blackstone  Valley  Gas  and  Electric  Co.,  Woonsocket,  R.  I,. . .. 

16 

June 

25,  1915 

Galifornia-Oregon  Power  Co..  Medford.  Ore . - 

June 

28,  1915 

Great  Western  Power  Co.,  Sacramento,  Cal 

September 

1915 

Erie  Lighting  Co.,  Erie,  Pa  ...  

61 

October 

28,  1915 

Middletown  Gas  and  Electric  Co.,  Middletown,  O. 

20 

October 

28,  1915 

Utah  Power  and  Light  Co.,  Salt  Lake  City,  Utah. 

126 

December 

1,  1915 

Penn  Public  Service  Co.,  Clearfield,  Pa  . . 

34 

January 

26,  1916 

Central  Power  Co.,  Grand  Island,  Neb 

45 

February 

24,  1916 

Newport  News  and  Hampton  Railway,  Gas  and  Electric  Co.. 

Newport  News,  Va , 

22 

February 

24,  1916 

Plymouth  Electric  Light  Co.,  Plymouth,  Mass . 

• 15 

March 

13,  1916 

Great  Western  Power  Co.,  Oakland,  Cal 

45 

March 

14,  1916 

Binghamton  Light,  Heat  and  Power  Co.,  Binghamton,  N.  Y. 

36 

March 

24,  1916 

New  Bedford  Gas  and  Edison  Light  Co.,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 

16 

. Columbus  R.  R.  Co.,  Columbus,  Ga 

No  returns  \ 

St.  Paul  Gas  Light  Co.,  St.  Paul,  Minn 

received 

San  Antonio  Gas  and  Electric  Co.,  San  Antonio,  Tex ... 

' British  Columbia  Electric  Rwy.  Co.,  Vancouver.  B.  C.,  Can 

A COMPILATION  OF  THE  COMPANY  SECTIONS 
BY  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  PHILADELPHIA 
ELECTRIC  COMPANY  SECTION,  IN  APRIL,  1916 


105 


CURRENT  NEWS 


A STEADILY  INCREASING  MEMBERSHIP  IS  THE  BEST 
EVIDENCE  OF  THE  CONTINUED  USEFULNESS  OF  THE 
COMPANY  SECTIONS  OF  THE  N.  E.  L.  A. : 


lllllllllllllic 


106 


for  APRIL,  1917 


THE 

PHILADELPHIA  ELECTRIC 
COMPANY 

SECTION  OF  THE  NATIONAL 
ELECTRIC  LIGHT  ASSOCIATION 
ORGANIZED  MARCH  15TH,  1909. 
PRESENT  MEMBERSHIP  UPWARDS 
OF  1100  • HOLDS  MONTHLY  MEET- 
INGS FOR  THE  DISCUSSION  OF 
SUBJECTS  ALLIED  TO  THE  POWER 
COMPANY  INDUSTRY  . PUBLISHES 
"CURRENT  NEWS”  10  TIMES  A YEAR 
MAINTAINS  3 DEPARTMENTAL 
BRANCHES  — COMMERCIAL, 
ENGINEERING  AND  METER  • EN- 
COURAGES ADVANCEMENT  IN  THE 
ELECTRICAL  ART  IN  PHILADELPHIA 


iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiMiimiimiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmiiiimiiiiimimmmiiimimiH^ 

107 


CURRENT  NEWS 

A typical  "Calendar"  of  P.  E.  Co.  Section  activities,  during  the  month : 


108 


for 


APRIL,  1917 


109 


THE  AUDIENCE  AT  THE  APRIL  MEETING  OF  P.  E.  CO.  SECTION:  MK.  WM.  C,  L.  EGLIN,  SPOKE  ON  "THE  POWER.  COMPANY 

AND  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  ELECTRICAL  ENERGY" 


CURRENT  NEWS 


association.  The  function  of  this  association  is  to  insure  the  employee 
effectually  against  sickness,  accident  and  death  for  any  cause;  such  insur- 
ance, although  a matter  of  physical  condition,  always  reacts  favorably  upon 
the  state  of  mind.  To  guard  against  being  imposed  upon,  the  beneficial 
association  insists  upon  a physical  examination  simultaneously  with  the 
employment  of  new  men.  Thus,  after  having  been  accepted  by  the  company, 
the  employee  is  automatically  insured  against  any  kind  of  accident — in  or 
outside  of  the  company’s  plant — sickness  and  death. 

In  case  of  sickness  or  accident  the  beneficial  association  renders  all  the 
necessary  medical  aid  and  advice.  To  cover  the  cost  of  this  insurance — 
and  medical  service  when  required — a small  per  cent,  is  deducted  from 
the  men’s  pay. 

The  prevention  of  accidents  and  sickness  is  really  more  important  than 
the  curing  of  them;  I have  mentioned  the  latter  first  merely  because  of 
the  insurance  feature  in  connection  with  the  beneficial  association.  The 
power  company  gives  special  attention  to  the  prevention  of  accidents  by 
the  safe-guarding  of  machinery  and  the  careful  instruction  of  the  men  in 
the  use  of  safety  devices.  Handling  of  live  or  supposedly  dead  electrical 
circuits,  which  is  usually  especially  dangerous,  is  being  done  continuously 
and  safely  by  Power  Company  employees  who  have  been  carefully  instructed 
how  to  avoid  accidents.  All  of  the  so-called  dangerous  employments  which 
the  Power  Company  calls  upon  its  men  to  enter  are  carefully  studied  in 
order  that  means  may  be  devised  whereby  the  employee  will  be  protected 
against  all  possible  harm.  Along  the  same  line  of  this  protection  of 
machinery  comes  the  training  which  is  given  the  men  in  rendering  first-aid 
to  themselves  or  to  injured  comrades.  The  instruction  in  first-aid  is  given 
by  competent  instructors,  and,  of  course,  always  includes  detailed  training 
in  the  “prone  pressure”  method  of  resuscitation.  To  encourage  proficiency 
in  the  knowledge  and  application  of  first-aid  principles,  awards  and  prizes 
are  given  in  frequent  contests  and  examinations. 

It  is  recognized  that  one  of  the  most  usual  causes  of  accident  and  sickness 
is  poor  physical  condition.  The  Power  Company,  realizing  this  fact,  has 
encouraged  outdoor  physical  exercise  by  the  establishment  of  centers  of 
open-air  activities,  where  its  employees  can  readily  indulge  in  any 
reasonable  game  or  sport  under  most  congenial  conditions. 

The  mental  attitude  of  the  employee  is  of  as  much  importance  as  his 
physical  condition.  The  question  of  worry  is  closely  related  to  that  of 
physical  health,  so  closely  in  fact  that  good  physical  health,  obtainable 
under  the  conditions  outlined  above,  means  to  a large  extent  the  elimination 
of  worry. 

The  Power  Companies  have  inaugurated  what  is  known  as  a service  annuity 
plan,  which  is  intended  to  provide  a certain  scale  of  pay,  depending  on 
the  employee’s  length  of  service  and  a certain  pension,  also  depending 

110 


for  APRIL,  1917 

upon  his  length  of  service  and  rate  of  pay.  The  elimination  of  overtime 
work  is  another  factor  which  contributes  largely  to  the  contentment  of 
the  employee. 

Upon  the  educational  opportunities  for  the  employee  depends  in  a large 
measure  his  advancement  and  future.  One  of  the  most  potent  educational 
forces  in  the  power  company  world  today  is  the  National  Electric  Light 
Association.  Established  in  1885,  it  has  grown  up  with  the  industry  from 
infancy.  It  has  branches  and  sections  in  every  corner  of  the  country,  which 
co-operate  with  each  other  in  educational  and  social  matters  for  the  general 
good.  Membership  in  this  great  national  organization  is  fortunately  open 
to  all  employees  of  the  member  companies,  many  of  whom  have  taken 
advantage  of  the  splendid  opportunities  offered  and  have  swelled  the 
National  membership  to  15,000.  In  addition  to  the  National  body,  many 
of  the  member  companies  maintain  their  own  sections  for  the  education 
and  social  interest  of  their  employees.  Some  idea  of  the  growth  of  a typical 
section  can  be  seen  from  page  106.  You  will  notice  that  the  curve  has 
the  usual  upward  trend,  which  now  you  recognize  as  characteristic  of  all 
phases  of  the  Power  Company  Industry. 


Ill 


CURRENT  NEWS 


IN  CONCLUSION: 


You  will  see  that  in  these  pages,  I have  attempted  to  give  you  something 
of  the  past  history,  the  present  standing,  and  in  a limited  way,  a forecast 
of  the  future,  o*f  the  American  Power  Companies;  with  the  emphasis  laid 
always  on  its  meaning  to  College  men. 

Up  until  now  it  might  easily  be  true  of  some  of  you,  that  the  only  conscious 
direct  relationship  that  you  have  had  with  the  Power  Company  industry, 
has  been  when  you  have  “pressed  the  button”  for  the  electric  lights  in  your 
dormitory  rooms! 

My  purpose  in  preparing  this  paper  has  been  to  seek  to  establish  quite  a 
different  sort  of  relationship. 

So  that  University  men  will  be  alive  to  the  opportunities — alike  to  engineers 
and  to  Arts  men — that  lie  open  to  them  NOW,  in  this  great,  rapidly- 
growing  industry. 


FINIS 


omvERsmr  of  uxm  vmm 


112 


TYPOGRAPHY  AND 
PRESSWORK 

innes  a Sons 


H.  H.  Wood 


ENGRAVINGS 
FRANKLIN  PHOTO 
ENGRAVING  HOUSE 


THE  NATIONAL  ELECTRIC 
LIGHT  ASSOCIATION 

with  headquarters  in  New  Y ork  City,  offers  the  interchange  of  facil- 
ities with  accredited  educational  institutions,  for  mutual  helpfulness. 

Its  Committee  on  Relations  with  Educational  Institutions  has  for 
its  objects:  "To  co-operate  with  educational  institutions  of 
various  grades  in  determining  on  courses,  curricula  and  facilities ; 
to  establish  opportunities  for  undergraduates  and  graduates  of 
technical  schools  to  engage  in  central  station  work ; to  recom- 
mend to  member  companies,  plans  for  educational  opportunities 
for  central  station  employees ; to  recommend  to  technical  institu- 
tions subjects  for  research/' 


COMMITTEE  ON  RELATIONS  WITH  EDUCATIONAL 
INSTITUTIONS 

J.  F.  GILCHRIST,  Chairman,  Commonwealth  Edison  Co.,  Chicago,  III. 

SECOR  CUNNINGHAM,  Jr.,  Secretary,  72  VV.  Adams  St..  Chicago,  III. 

HONORARY  MEMBERS 


W.  L.  ABBOTT,  Commonwealth  Edison  Company, 
Chicago,  III. 

J.  A.  BRITTON,  Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Company, 
San  Francisco,  Cal. 

C.  L.  EDGAR,  Edison  Electric  Illuminating  Company, 
Boston,  Mass. 

J.  W.  LIEB,  New  York  Edison  Co.,  New  York  City 


L.  A.  FERGUSON,  Commonwealth  Edison  Company. 
Chicago,  111. 

DR.  A.  E.  KENNELLY,  Harvard  University,  Cam- 
bridge.  Mass. 

PROF.  C.  F.  SCOTT,  Sheffield  Scientific  School, 
New  Haven,  Conn. 

C.  A.  STONE,  120  Broadway,  New  York  City 


REGULAR  MEMBERS  REPRESENTING  THE  ASSOCIATION 


DOUGLASS  BURNETT,  Cons.  Gas,  Electric  Light 
and  Power  Co.,  Baltimore,  Md. 

H.  L.  DOHERTY,  H.  L.  Doherty  &■  Company. 
New  York  City 

W.  C.  L.  EGLIN,  Philadelphia  Electric  Co.,  Phila.,  Pa. 
W.  W.  FREEMAN,  Union  Gas  and  Electric  Co., 
Cincinnati,  Ohio 


P.  M.  LINCOLN,  Westinghouse  Elec.  &■  Mfg.  Co., 
E.  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

PAUL  SPENCER,  United  Gas  Improvement  Co„ 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

ARTHUR  WILLIAMS,  New  York  Edison  Co., 
New  York  City 


REPRESENTING  THE  COLLEGES 


PROF.  M.  C.  BEEBE,  University  of  Wisconsin, 
Madison,  Wis. 

PROF.  H.  E.  CLIFFORD,  Harvard  University,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass. 

PROF.  C.  F.  CORY,  University  of  California, 
Berkeley,  Cal. 

PROF.  O.  J.  FERGUSON,  University  of  Nebraska, 
Lincoln,  Neb. 

PROF.  A.  F.  GANZ,  Stevens  Institute,  Hoboken, 
New  Jersey 

PROF.  C.  F.  HARD  NG,  Purdue  University, 
LafFayette,  Ind. 

PROF.  L.  A.  HERDT,  McGill  University,  Montreal, 
Quebec 


V 


PROF.  VLADIMIR  KARAPETOFF,  Cornell  Univer- 
sity, Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

PROF.  H.  H.  NORRIS,  McGraw  Publishing  Co., 
New  York  Cjty 

PROF.  S.  R.  PRITCHARD,  Virginia  Polytechnic 
Institute,  Blacksburg,  Va. 

PROF.  H.  J.  RYAN,  Leland  Stanford  University, 
Leland  Stanford,  Cal. 

PROF.  J.  G.  SCRUpHAM,  .University  of  Nevada, 
Reno,  Nev. 

PROF.  G.  D.  SHEPARDSON,  University  of  Minnesota, 
Minneapolis,  Minn. 

PROF.  CARL  C.  THOMAS,  Johns  Hopkins  Univer- 
sity, Baltimore,  Md. 


DEAN  ANDREW  F.  WEST, 
Graduate  College,  Princeton  University, 
Princeton,  N.  J. 


"A  far-reaching  influ- 
ence in  the  choice  of  his 
life  work  should  be  the 
Opportunities  held  out 
to-day  by  the  Power 
Companies  to  the 
University-trained  man  ” 


